


A Third Perspective

by arc852, HiddenDreamer67



Series: Perspective Series [3]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Borrowers - Freeform, G/T, Giant/Tiny, M/M, Multi, Other, TINY - Freeform, borrower, giant, perspective series, tinies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2019-10-01 23:21:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 44,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17253293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arc852/pseuds/arc852, https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenDreamer67/pseuds/HiddenDreamer67
Summary: The third work in our series of Perspective-themed Gt Sanders Sides Novels.Borrower!Patton is caught watching human!Roman's Disney marathon, while Borrower!Virgil is taken hostage by a curious human!Logan. Both humans are notoriously stubborn and have trouble seeing things from their respective borrower's perspectives; sometimes it takes another man's borrower for you to see your own flaws.





	1. The Dreaded Disney Disaster

Patton knew it was risky, but he couldn’t help but want to get a better look at what was on the TV. Besides, the human was asleep. So there really was no reason to worry.

 He climbed up to the top of the coffee table, glancing back at the human, only relaxing when he saw the steady up and down of his chest. Smiling, he turned back towards the TV. Memorized by the colors and characters so much that he didn’t care that he didn’t know what was actually happening.

 Roman slowly but steadily rejoined the waking world as the fourth Tinkerbell movie began to play. Realizing he must’ve fallen asleep during his Disney marathon, Roman reached forwards to grab the remote, only to pause when a very strange sight awaited him.

 Roman blinked a few times. Surely he must be dreaming. There couldn’t possibly be a tiny, fairy-like creature sitting on his table watching Disney. But as Roman quickly grabbed up the figure in a fist, he confirmed that it was very much real and alive.

 Patton didn’t notice the human was awake until it was too late. He yelped as he was suddenly grabbed from behind and brought in front of the human. He shook as their eyes met and he couldn’t help but think about how stupid he had been to think he was safe, just because the human was asleep.

 “Oh my stars,” Roman said in awe, bringing the tiny being even closer as he reached over to turn on the light. He brought his hand up to brush the tiny’s head, smiling. “What are  _you_?”

 Patton was frozen, tense as one of the human’s fingers pet the top of his head. This was his worst nightmare come to life and he wasn’t sure if he should answer the question or not. Should he even speak? The borrower rules would say no, but maybe things would go better for him if he  _did_  speak…

 “Aww, you don’t have to be scared, little guy!” Roman began to run his finger down the creature’s back in a reassuring pattern. “I promise, no harm is going to come to you.”

 Patton shivered at the feeling of a finger going down his back. He wanted to believe the human, he really did, but humans were dangerous and manipulative. Who knew what this human was  _really_  planning?

 He decided to keep silent, at least for a bit longer. He had still yet to decide if he  _should_  speak or not.

 Roman opened up his hand a bit, watching the pixie being tumble down into the center of his palms. Roman couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle, gently rolling the creature back and forth. Though Roman didn’t have a clue what this was or where it came from, there was no disputing the fact that it was adorable.

 Patton yelped when the human opened his palm and closed his eyes as he felt himself being manhandled by the human. He hated the feeling, in all honesty. Which was saying something, since there were not a lot of things Patton hated.

 Wanting it to end, Patton finally decided to speak out. “P-Please stop…”

 Roman paused, staring down at the creature more intently than before. “Did you just…speak?”

 Biting his lip, Patton hesitantly nodded. He did not care for the human’s current gaze.

 “Oh my goodness this is amazing.” Roman gasped. “That is so much better! A real live talking…well really, what are you? A fairy? Pixie? Some sort of small gnomish creature?”

 Patton wasn’t liking how the human was speaking of him either. He swallowed nervously. “I, uh…I’m not supposed to tell you.”

 “What?” Roman frowned slightly. “Well, why not?”

 Patton shrugged. “It’s the rules.” The rules also said to not  _talk_  to any human either, but he was going to ignore that rule. And nevermind the one about being seen.

 “What rules?” Roman questioned.

 Patton didn’t have a way deflect the question, so he just stayed silent. Looking down and trying to ignore the fact that his ground was the human’s  _hand_.

 “C’mon, you can tell me.” Roman nudged the little guy’s side with his finger.

 Patton yelped and tried scooting as far away as he could get from the offending appendage. Patton shook his head.

 Roman pursed his lips. “Fine, then what  _can_  you tell me?” He gave the being a nudge from the other side.

 Patton didn’t like the human poking him, but was glad he seemed to drop the subject. Patton thought for a minute. “…My name is Patton.” That was safe to tell the human, at least.

 “Nice to meet you, Patton!” Roman said with a large grin. Now they were getting somewhere. He glanced at the tv, transferring Patton over to one hand so he could pause the movie. “So, I’m guessing you’re a fan of Disney, too?”

 Patton blinked, having expected a name in return. But it appeared he was stuck with calling the human, well, ‘the human’ for a bit longer. “Is…that what the show is called?” Patton asked, hesitant.

 “One of many, yes.” Roman nodded. “You know we could watch some of the better films if you would like.”

 “Uh, actually, I should probably be getting back home.” Patton brought up, hoping beyond hope that the human would let him go.

 “Oh come on, I’m sure you can stick around awhile!” Roman reached over and ruffled Patton’s hair. A thought occurred to him. “Where did you come from, anyways?”

 Would it be too much to tell the human where he lived? Probably. “Um…I live pretty close by.” Patton admitted but did not give any specifics. The less he told, the better it was if- _when_  he managed to get back home.

 “How on earth have I never seen you around?” Roman thoughtfully rested his cheek on his free hand, rubbing his fingers along Patton’s shoulder. “How close do you mean? How did you get in my apartment, anyway?”

 Patton bit his lip, deciding to try something while ignoring the human’s fingers still touching him. “I know you have a lot of questions, but I  _really_  should be getting back home. So, uh, I’d really appreciate it if you could put me down?” Patton asked, trying to be a little more forceful about being let go. But his hope was slowly dying.

 “No, that’s not fair,” Roman said with a slight whine. “You’re not even answering any of them.”

 “If I answer your questions…will you let me go?” Patton asked. Even though he really shouldn’t, he would be willing to answer anything if it meant Roman would let him go.

 “Hmm, maybe.” Roman agreed. After all, he still didn’t know if Patton was some sort of evil tricking pixie who’d curse him, but looking down at Patton he doubted it. “In a little while, sure.”

 Patton sighed but figured this was his best bet. “Alright then.” Patton agreed.

 “Fantastic!” Roman sat up eagerly, practically bouncing in his seat. “What kind of creature are you? What are those rules about? Where do you live?”

 Patton took a deep breath. He silently whispered a sorry to the creator of the rules before answering the questions. “I’m a borrower, someone who borrows things from humans in order to survive. The rules are in place to protect us, from-from humans. With things like, don’t be seen, don’t talk to humans and things like that. And I live within the walls of the complex. Between the fourth and fifth floor.” Telling the human everything felt wrong, but Patton forced himself through it.

 “Interesting.” Roman paused to take in this new information. “Do you have any magical powers or special abilities?”

 “No, not that I know of.” Patton paused. “I mean, we’re really good climbers, but that’s more out of necessity than anything.”

 “Makes sense.” Roman chuckled, transferring Patton so that his torso was pinched between his fingers and his legs dangled. “It’s not like you’re going to be able to run very far.”

 Patton yelped at the new position, wrapping his arms around the finger, not wanting to fall. “P-Put me down! P-Please!”

 “Relax, you’re fine.” Roman insisted, but he wrapped another finger around Patton just to be safe. “I’ve got you.”

 Patton whimpered, squirming in the grip. “Alright, I’ve answered your questions. Can you let me go home now?” Patton asked. He just really wanted to go back home and forget this ever happened.

 “But I’ve still got so many questions!” Roman began to rub along Patton’s arms to get the borrower to calm down. Out of the corner of his eye, Roman saw the clock and realized how late it had gotten. “Oh my, I didn’t realize how late I slept. Why aren’t you tired? Are borrowers nocturnal or something?”

 “Um…sort of? It’s the best time for us to…go out and borrow and stuff.” Patton answered, squirming more in the grip.

 “Hmm.” Roman nodded in consideration, still holding Patton aloft. “I suppose that makes sense.”

 “Yeah…” Patton took in a deep breath, calming himself down. Though it was hard to do when he was literally in the hands of a giant. A giant who, despite his promise, didn’t seem to keen on letting him go. “H-How many more questions do you have? Because I  _really_  need to be getting back home.” Patton said once again. But he would say it as much as he needed to.

 “Wh-well I don’t know!” Roman huffed indignantly, getting a bit irritated with Patton’s impatience. He raised Patton higher.  “It’s not like I ever expected to find a four-inch tall borrower thing binge watching Disney movies in the dark. I don’t exactly have a list to go off of, you know.”

 Patton bit back a yelp as he was raised a bit higher. “B-But you  _said_  I could go home after answering your questions! And I’ve basically told you everything already!” It was true, there really wasn’t much more to tell about him and his kind.

 “There  _must_  be more.” Roman insisted. He wanted to know everything about the lil’ guy. “Why are you so set on going home, anyways? Is your family waiting for you?” Roman began to picture an entire family of tiny people, and the thought was absolutely adorable.

 “Um…W-Well no, but…” Patton trailed off. He was trying to come up with an excuse as to why he would need to leave because he was sure the human wouldn’t accept that he simply did not want to be here.

 “I have to get home because I…left…the oven on?” It was an excuse he heard from many humans and hoped it would work with this one.

 Roman merely looked at Patton before bursting out laughing. The idea of Patton even being able to turn on a stove was ridiculous, and Roman’s mind was suddenly filled with images of Patton trying his hardest to pull the knob down with his miniscule body weight.

 “You’re funny, Patton,” Roman commented, his laughter dying off with a chuckle.

 Patton felt his body deflate. “I wasn’t…joking…” Patton has told many a pun in his time, but hearing the human laugh at him like that in this type of situation…it was humiliating.

 “No, but you are a terrible liar,” Roman replied, tussling Patton’s hair to show he meant no ill will. “I mean really, the oven? There’s no way someone like you has ever used an oven in their life.”


	2. Roman this isn't how we make friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman offers Patton food and a cozy place to stay, but all Patton wants is to get away.

 All this talk about ovens was beginning to make Roman hungry. With Patton in hand, Roman got up off the couch to search the kitchen for snacks.

 Patton squeaked when the human stood up. “Where are-where are we going?”

 “I figured we need a little midnight snack.” Roman paused, looking down at Patton with a grin. “Emphasis on ‘little’.” He set Patton down on the counter to free up his hands.

 Patton sighed in relief once he was set back down on solid ground. He looked up at the human, cowering as he noticed that the human was practically looming over him. He looked away and towards the edge of the counter.

 He felt the weight of his hook at his hip. If he could just make it down to the ground, he could get away. He just had to wait for the human to turn his back.

 Roman started towards the pantry, before turning back with a frown. “…What do borrowers eat, anyways?”

 “Oh! Uh, anything you do? We’re not picky.” They couldn’t afford to be.

 “Hm, alright.” Roman began digging through the shelves, looking to find the perfect snack for his late-night hunger.

 With the human’s back turned, Patton wasted no time in getting his hook out and throwing it over the side of the counter, hooking it into the chipped wood. He started on his climb down, trying to be fast and silent, warily looking towards the human the entire time.

 “Alright, this should-  _hey_!” Roman dropped the box of cereal in favor of grabbing up Patton once more as the borrower tried to scale down the counter. Roman picked up Patton’s…fish hook?… as well, and with a frown noticed it had left a scratch on the counter’s surface. “What on earth do you think you were doing?”

 Patton had been  _so_  close and yet not close  _enough_. Patton shook terribly as he was grabbed once again. He briefly looked up at the human, only to quickly revert his gaze when he saw what could only be anger on his face.

 Patton couldn’t answer and if he could he wasn’t even sure what he would say. All he did do, was shut his eyes tight and brace himself. Because an angry human only meant pain, right?

 Roman sighed as Patton seemed to only shut down at his questioning. He ran a comforting thumb along Patton’s side, instead focusing on the hook thing that he began to twirl around in his fingers. “Where did you even get this?”

 Patton tensed when he felt one of the human’s fingers trail down his side, but when it didn’t bring any pain with it, he relaxed. But only slightly.

 “I uh-” He took in a shaky breath. “I found the uh, parts and made it myself.” Patton answered timidly, still looking down.

 “Ow!” Roman winced as he accidentally pricked himself. He tossed the hook onto the counter with a huff. “Why do you even need that if you’re so good at climbing, anyways?”

 “It just…makes things easier,” Patton said. “And safer.”

 “Well, I don’t think so.” Roman glared at his injured finger. “Augh, and now the cereal is probably all crushed up…” Roman bent down to pick up the cereal box, setting Patton on the counter so he could inspect the contents. Thankfully his suspicions were incorrect, and his honeycombs were safe. Roman grabbed a spare napkin and sprinkled a few on, leaving it next to Patton. Roman stepped back to keep a suspicious eye on the borrower as he began to eat fistfuls of cereal straight from the box.

 Patton looked down at the cereal and then back up at the human. He winced as he found all of the human’s attention on him. Well, there was no chance he could escape now. The human would simply catch him again.

 Instead, Patton decided to take this opportunity to eat something. He grabbed a piece of the cereal and took a little nibble. He hummed in delight at the taste. He paused and debated with himself for a moment, before deciding to speak.

 “Thank you.”

 Roman felt a smile growing at Patton’s reaction. Not to mention such polite manners. “You’re quite welcome,” Roman said, feeling his tension and irritation melting away. Patton was just too adorable for Roman to stay mad.

 Patton continued to nibble on his cereal. It was good, but he still wanted nothing more than to go home. But…Patton took another look at the human. Noticing he looked relaxed again. If he brought it up again, the human might get  _angry_ again. And Patton would much rather be with a human who wasn’t.

 He would ask a little later, but for now, he clearly wasn’t leaving anytime soon. And there was something he needed to know. “Uh…can I ask a question?”

 “But of course, Patton!” Roman was eager to see Patton was actually contributing to the conversation for once, instead of asking to leave every two seconds.

 “What’s your name?” Patton asked, tired of calling the human by ‘the human’ in his head.

 “…Oh!” Roman realized that in his excitement he had indeed forgotten to introduce himself. “My apologies, Patton. You may call me Roman.” All this was said with a bow.

 “Roman, well, uh-” Patton stopped himself from the complimentary, it’s nice to meet you. Because, well…it kind of wasn’t. “Hi.” He said instead.

 “Hello,” Roman said with a chuckle and a teasing wave. “Sorry about that, I’m usually not one to forget formalities, but I just got so swept up in the action that it slipped my mind.” Roman turned back to the pantry, closing up the cereal box and tucking it back onto the shelf.

 With Roman’s back once again turned, Patton couldn’t just stand there. He had to at least try and get away right? Despite the fact that Roman would probably be mad if he caught him again…

 He didn’t have much time to weigh his options though, instead of acting on instinct. And apparently, his instinct wanted him to try and escape once again. So, he grabbed his discarded hook and ran back towards the edge of the counter. This time he found himself fumbling nervously with his hook as he tried to stick it back into the wood.

 Roman looked back at the counter, annoyed to find Patton once more at the edge. He huffed, stomping back over and picking Patton up by the back of his shirt. “Again?!”

 “Ahh!” Patton yelled as he was suddenly swept up. Welp, he was right, Roman was angry once again. And Patton was slow to hope that this would work out like last time.

 Tears pricked the corners of his eyes and he tucked his knees in as much as he could, suspended in the air like he was. “I-I’m sorry, I just-I-Please don’t…don’t hurt me…” Patton spoke softly as the tears fell.

 Roman’s eyes softened as the borrower burst into tears. “Oh, Patton…” Roman held Patton close to his chest, hugging him as best he could. “I swear, I’m not going to harm you.”

 “You…won’t?” Patton asked, still shaking as Roman held him to his chest.

 “No, of course not!” Roman insisted. “I’m not a  _monster_. I just want to know more about you! Spend some time together! It’s just…frustrating when I’m trying to sit here and be a friendly host, but every free moment you’re trying to escape my presence.” Roman held Patton away from him so he could look the borrower sadly in the eye. “Am I really such miserable company?”

 Patton’s eyes widened. “N-No!” Patton suddenly felt bad. He wasn’t expecting to make the  _human_  upset. “It’s just, I…” Patton sighed.

 “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to come off like that…” He hated making  _anyone_ feel bad, even the human, apparently.

 “I forgive you, Patton,” Roman said in a sincere tone. “ _Of course_  I forgive you.” He held Patton, rubbing the borrower’s back in soothing circles. “We seem to have made a bit of a mess of things, me with the introductions, and you with…well…” Roman paused. “Perhaps it’s best if we just start over.”

 Patton nodded, swallowing down his nerves. “Okay, yeah.” He took a deep breath. “Hi, I’m Patton.” He said with a little wave.

 “Hello Patton, I’m Roman.” Roman stopped rubbing Patton’s back in favor of covering a sudden yawn. “Oh, excuse me, I think the late hour is finally catching up to me. Perhaps it will be best if we finish our second attempt in the morning.”

 “Oh! Uh, o-okay?” Patton wasn’t sure what that meant, though he  _was_  pretty sure Roman still wasn’t going to let him go. Or…would he?

 Roman began to make his way into his bedroom, turning off the kitchen light as he went. “Luckily it’s a Sunday- well, a Monday by now- and we won’t need to get up so early.” He climbed right into bed, not bothering to change out of his clothes. “I don’t have any early Monday morning classes. I just love not having to set an alarm, don’t you?”

 “I don’t…have an alarm,” Patton said, squirming a little when he realized the answer to his earlier thought. Of course, Patton wasn’t going to say anything though.

 “Oh, my mistake,” Roman said with a small chuckle, placing the borrower onto the spare pillow. “You probably don’t even know what an alarm is; I forgot who I was talking to for a moment. Hang on.” Roman sat up slightly, looking down at Patton with his serious face. “You’re not going to try and leave again tonight, are you?”

 Patton tensed at Roman’s shift in tone and shook his head.

 Roman’s face returned to a smile. “I should certainly hope not!” Roman turned off the lamp, laying back down and getting comfortable. He observed Patton’s setup. “Are you comfy? Do you need anything?” He looked around for something small enough for Patton to use as a blanket.

 “Oh, um…I’m okay…” Patton was a little nervous to ask for anything at this point. Not with Roman’s reaction of Patton asking him to let him go.

 Roman gave a quiet exclamation as he spotted an unused handkerchief, grabbing it off his nightstand. He folded it over once, his fingers rubbing against the silky smooth texture.

 “Here you go,” Roman said with a soft smile, holding it aloft for Patton to grab.

 Patton hesitantly took the cloth from Roman, holding it close to him. It was actually quite warm and soft. “Thank you.”

 “Are you sure you don’t require anything else?” Roman looked at Patton worriedly. “I can get you another blanket, or a different pillow if it’s not good enough.”

 “No! No, this is, um, great! I don’t need anything else.” Patton said, still stuttering over his words. He tried to force a smile and prayed it didn’t come across as a grimace.

 “Alright, but please, don’t feel hesitant to ask for  _anything_.” Roman insisted, settling into bed. “I’m here for you. I want to make sure you’re happy.”

 Patton didn’t believe for a second he was okay to ask for simply  _anything_. Because he certainly wasn’t okay to ask to be let go. And he couldn’t be truly happy until he was let go. Not having anything to say, Patton simply hummed in response.

 “Do you like french toast, Patton?” Roman didn’t wait for an answer. “I’ll make you all the french toast you want. Or pancakes, I can do those too. I also make the best scrambled eggs, everybody says so.”

 “That…That sounds  _really_  good.” Patton said, meaning it. He now felt guilty for even thinking about trying to leave tonight. Because here Roman was, planning this huge breakfast just for him. Patton couldn’t just skip out on that, right? “I’m looking forward to it.”

 “Me too,” Roman admitted, getting a bit giddy in anticipation. He yawned again. “But we should probably stop talking about it before we get hungry again. The morning will  _-yawn-_  be here before you know it…” Roman’s voice began to drift off near the end of his sentence, indicating just how drowsy the human truly was.

 Patton waited a few extra moments, to make sure Roman was truly asleep, before making his move. Despite the underlying guilt, he felt about leaving, he knew it was the right thing. He couldn’t stay here, if he did, he would never be allowed to leave.

 He inched off the pillow and looked around for the best route to take off the bed.

 But in his sleep, the human shifted, bringing down his hand upon Patton’s form.

 Patton yelped and started struggling against the sudden weight against his body. It forced him to lay down and Patton pushed against the hand to try and crawl out.

 Roman’s fingers wrapped around Patton, pulling him close like a teddy bear.

 Patton continued to struggle as he found himself against Roman’s chest. But after several minutes, Patton realized it was impossible. The grip around him was too tight for him to slip through.

 Patton was truly stuck.

 His struggles ceased and fell limp. He wasn’t even  _tired_  and even if he was there was no way he could sleep like  _this_.  _On top_  of a  _human_. Patton sighed.

 It was gonna be a long night.


	3. Logan's late night discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Look, it's everyone's favorite human- Logan!
> 
> ...wait.

 Virgil stuffed the piece of cereal into his bag, before continuing to look around the kitchen. He was borrowing for mostly food tonight, but he began to wonder if he should look for some tissue paper as well. And maybe some foil. He still had some left, but he didn’t want to run out.

 Making up his mind, he wandered over to where he knew the foil would be. Getting his hook out and preparing himself to try and jimmy the drawer the foil was in open. He had done it plenty of times before, but it always took several frustrating moments to accomplish. Thankfully, it wasn’t too hard this time around.

 With the drawer open a slit, he hopped in and started towards the back, looking for the foil.

 It was in that moment that the light turned on and Virgil froze.  _Oh no_.

 Logan paused in the doorway, hand still on the light switch. Why was one of the kitchen drawers open? Logan was sure he had closed them all, and he lived alone. Did one of the drawers manage to get loose enough to slide out on its own at 2 in the morning? Logan walked over, giving the drawer a sharp tug to test the joints.

 Virgil had no warning as the drawer suddenly shot forward and he hit his head on the lip of the drawer,  _hard_.

 Virgil was only vaguely aware the drawer had stopped its motion as he fell to the ground with a groan of pain, hands on his head and rubbing at the spot. That was definitely going to leave a mark in the morning.

 Logan frowned as the drawer’s progress was stopped by some object in the way, likely a misplaced kitchen utensil. He reached his hand in to move the intruding tool out of the way.

 Virgil sat up, hand still on his head as he saw a  _giant_  hand, a  _human’s_  hand come right for him. Virgil tried to scoot back, to get away out of the way, but the hand was much faster. It came upon him, sloppily wrapping around him as if it wasn’t sure what it was grabbing.

 Virgil shook, frozen in fear as all he could do was wait to see his fate.

 Logan quickly let go, pulling his hand back with a slight hiss of disgust. There was something  _alive_  in there. Most likely a rat, the building seemed to have some form of infestation problem.

 Logan opened a separate kitchen drawer, pulling out a set of disposable gloves for sanitation purposes. Perhaps if he just quickly transferred it to some container… the only container within reach of an appropriate size seemed to be a large glass beaker Logan had borrowed from the university. Logan gave his professor a silent apology, pulling the beaker closer before plunging his hand back into the drawer.

 Virgil, for just a moment, thought that maybe the human had gone when the hand suddenly disappeared. But his hopes were crushed when the hand came back, this time with a pair of gloves on and  _that_ just had Virgil panicking more.

 But once again, he could do nothing as the hand wrapped around him again. This time it was a bit more precise, the hand knew what it was grabbing onto this time.

 Logan was quick in his movements, not particularly wanting to be bitten and have to visit the ER for rabies tonight. He kept a firm grip on the creature, making sure it wouldn’t slip out of his grasp or turn around and bite him as he not-so-gracefully dumped it into the beaker.

 However, one look into the container made Logan realize that this was no rat.

 The ride out of the drawer was quick and before Virgil could even process what was happening he was falling. He hit the bottom with a grunt and opened his eyes to see himself surrounded by glass. His eyes widened and then went to the blurry looming figure a few feet away.

 The human had trapped him.

 Virgil felt tears start to form. Because he knew this was it. This was where everything ended for him.

 “Oh my word.” Logan pushed his glasses further up his nose, leaning in closer to process what he was seeing. Surely this was some form of insomnia-induced daydream. Tiny humanoid beings simply didn’t exist.

 Virgil tried to lean back as far as he could as the human came closer, but his back hit the glass behind him.  _No, no, no, no, no, no-!_

 Logan watched the creature scuttle back in fear, which was not uncommon for a trapped rodent. What was unnatural was the way it moved, leaning backwards. Clearly, this being was bipedal, which matched its human form but was unusual for such a minuscule lifeform.

 The biology student crouched down to get a better look, but the glass was still distorting his view slightly. “What  _are_  you?” Logan asked, more to himself as he didn’t expect an answer.

 Virgil’s breath caught in his throat and he was sure he wouldn’t be able to speak, even if he wanted to. Which, he didn’t. He was sure it would only make things worse and the rules were quite clear. And there for a reason.

 So he stayed silent as his body slowly succumbed to his panic.

 Logan wished he was further in his classes so he could know what to do in this sort of situation. Of course, he doubted any of his research seminars were going to cover finding exotic, undiscovered life within the modern urban apartment structure. The concept was unheard of; perhaps he should be taking notes. Unfortunately, his notebooks were all in the other room, and he didn’t want to risk the creature disappearing in his one minute away. Nor did he want to startle the creature by transferring it to another location so soon; the stress alone might be enough to stop its tiny heart entirely.

 Instead, Logan began digging through his kitchen drawers, looking for some form of writing utensil. Sharpie in hand, Logan began to scribble notes directly onto his forearm.

 All Virgil could do was watch on in confused terror as the human started to write… _something_  on his own arm. The sight put him even more on edge though and Virgil was starting to piece together exactly what type of human he was.

 _He had gloves, Virgil was trapped inside a thick glass tube and now the human was writing notes on his arm._  Virgil’s eyes widened as a single thought entered his mind.

 Scientist.

 Well, there went his wish for a quick end.

 Logan finished writing his initial observations. He wanted to get some accurate measurements as well but noticed the markings on the beaker were inconveniently on the opposite side of the glass. Logan turned the beaker so they were instead facing him.

 Virgil flinched as the container suddenly turned, throwing him off. And he shook at how close the hand was. He stared at it, just waiting for it to take him in its grasp once again.

 Logan gave a small huff as the tiny being moved away from where he intended. “Sit still,” Logan instructed, reaching his hand into the beaker. He pushed the being against the glass, pressing it so that it stood up straight and he could get an accurate measurement.

 _Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh no, ahhhhhhhhhhh-!_  Virgil trembled as the human’s hand held him against the glass. His mind was in a deep panic at this point and he wasn’t sure what to do. But he stayed still as best as he could, scared of what the human would do if he moved again.

 The tears finally fell down Virgil’s cheeks.

 Logan removed his hand and wrote the measurement down on his inside wrist:  _4.03 inches._  He turned the beaker once more so that he could face the creature. Logan paused. It seemed to be… crying. Now, that was indeed peculiar. Logan had once read that only human beings used tears as an outlet for emotions. Was this tiny thing doing a similar tactic? If so, perhaps there were more human-like tendencies within his subject.

 With the human’s hand off of him, Virgil curled up into a ball. He tried his best to wipe the tears from his face, but more just kept coming. He kept his head down, not wanting to look at the human.

 Looking around, Logan pulled over one of the dining chairs to sit and observe the sobbing creature. He supposed it might be a while before it did anything incredibly interesting, but he didn’t want to frighten it further. Not to mention, he knew that organic observation was often a much more beneficial form of research than experimentation. (And it was far too early to even begin considering dissection).

 Virgil cried silently for several minutes before realizing with a start that…it was too quiet. He had expected  _something_  to happen, the human to grab him again, maybe try and ask some questions. He risked a glance upwards, only to see the human staring at him with an intense gaze. Virgil froze.

 “Are you done now?” Logan raised an eyebrow.

 Virgil glared at the human before he realized what he was doing and panic quickly took over his features. He buried his head in his knees again, bracing himself for whatever punishment the human was going to give him for the look.

 “…Can you understand me?” Logan asked, finding the reaction just  _slightly_  off. It seemed far too human. Logan leaned back slightly in surprise.

 Virgil grit his teeth as he kept his head down, though he couldn’t keep his body from tensing up. The rules were clear, he couldn’t let the human know he understood him.

 Logan frowned. Though the creature had not responded to his question, Logan was beginning to suspect that it was sentient.

 “I think you can.” Logan decided to go out on a limb. After all, if he was wrong that only meant he was talking to himself in his own kitchen. “And I think it’d be a lot easier if you cooperated.”

 Virgil hadn’t thought his body could tense up much further, but he was proven wrong at the human’s words.  _This was bad, this was bad, this was bad bad bad bad bad-!_

 He took in a shaky breath and wondered how far the human would go to prove he could understand. And wondered how far he himself could go without breaking.

 This was going to end up a lot worse than Virgil had first thought, wasn’t it?

 “You seem awfully frightened.” Logan pointed out. “If you communicate with me I’m sure we can reach a more beneficial arrangement to lessen your anxiety.”

 _Yeah, right._  Virgil was sure it would only cause him  _more_  anxiety to let the human know he could understand.

 “Are you hungry?” Logan offered. “I would be more than willing to fix you a meal if you simply request one.”

 …Did that mean the human was going to  _starve_  him if he didn’t? Virgil let out another shaky breath, still trying to not show any signs of understanding despite his growing panic and fear.

 Logan paused after his previous attempts failed. He supposed it was time to move on from diplomacy. Logan had no intentions of harming the creature; after all, this was surely the find of the century. However, it did appear to be very fear-driven. Perhaps that could be used to his advantage.

 Logan reached one of his gloved hands into the beaker.

 Something suddenly felt different to Virgil and he lifted his head in time to see the human’s hand descend upon him. Virgil yelped and tried desperately to push himself into the floor as if that would help him avoid being grabbed. He knew it wouldn’t, but his panicked mind didn’t care at the moment.

 Logan froze his hand, keeping it suspended in midair just above the quivering being. “Do you want me to pick you up?”

 Virgil started to shake his head before he stopped himself halfway through the first shake. Oh gosh, he had almost given himself away.

 …But he also really didn’t want to be picked up.

 No, he had to stay strong.  _But he was so weak, he knew he wouldn’t be able to last much longer. Not if the human kept this up._

 Logan saw the creature beginning to react. It certainly felt promising to actually be getting somewhere. Still, Logan wondered how much it would take to fully break this stubborn exterior. He considered rewarding the tiny subject’s half-attempt but inevitably decided against it. After all, Logan would need full communication for this to work. So, he lowered his hand and wrapped it around the being.

 Virgil’s eyes widened and he immediately started to struggle against the grip. Virgil felt more tears escape and his resolve was breaking. Would things really be easier if he just said something?

 …Probably not.

 Logan pulled it up and out, intrigued by the feeling of its tiny (and rather pointless) struggles. Logan held it up to his face, momentarily distracted from his current goal as he got his first good look at his captive.

 “…And you’re crying again.” Logan sighed. Emotions were truly the bane of his existence.

 Virgil glared through his bangs and tears at the human, not even caring if Logan took notice as he continued to struggle.  _But he did care and now who knows what was going to happen to him._

 “This is your own fault, you know.” Logan chided when he saw it was glaring at him. “If you simply communicated your displeasure at being held, then this would be over.” Logan sighed sarcastically. “But since you cannot understand me, I guess you have no way of expressing your discomfort, and I am forced to assume that you enjoy these actions.” Logan put his gloved finger underneath the being’s chin, forcing it to look up so Logan could gauge its facial reactions better.

 Virgil’s breath hitched and his body froze as the human’s finger forced his head up. He searched the human’s eyes, seeing nothing but curiosity and annoyance. Both emotions caused fear within Virgil and he broke.

_He was weak._

 He shut his eyes tight and after some hesitation shook his head fully. At the very least, maybe he could get away with this without talking.


	4. The Most Tense Game of Charades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil tries to stay silent as he attempts to communicate to Logan he wants to go home. Unfortunately, Logan was never good at charades.

“I knew it!” Logan’s lips twitched into a small smile. He had been beginning to doubt himself slightly, but no longer. Logan set the creature down on the counter, wanting to respect its wishes to encourage further communication.

 Virgil was surprised to find he was put down and not even back in the glass. He looked around, realizing his exit was quite the ways away. The borrower deflated, there was no way he was getting over there without the human catching him.

 Instead, he settled with taking several steps back. He knew it didn’t matter, but the extra distance felt good.

 “I apologize if I startled you, but I appreciate that you have chosen to cooperate.” Logan crossed his arms on the edge of the counter, leaning forwards. “Are you alright?”

 Virgil stopped himself from glaring this time, but he did shake his head. Might as well be honest. It didn’t matter either way anyway.

 “…Physically or mentally?” Logan asked, wanting to get a better read on the situation.

 Virgil blinked, wondering how he was supposed to answer that without speaking. He hesitatingly held up a two. Despite things so far, he wasn’t really hurt physically.

 Yet.

 “Both?” Logan clarified.

 Virgil sighed, rubbing at his arm. He couldn’t believe he was doing this. He shook his head.

 “…Just mentally, then?” Logan corrected.

 Virgil nodded. At least the human wasn’t trying to make him speak. Though it was only a matter of time.

 “Well, that’s to be expected,” Logan said with a slight shrug. Though it was excellent to be getting some actual results, Logan couldn’t help but notice how tedious it was with just yes/no questions and charades. “You know, this might be a bit more efficient if you just spoke.”

 …Of course.

 Virgil’s eyes widened and he shifted his gaze, before getting an idea.  _It’s stupid._ Yeah, probably, but it might work?  _No, it won’t._  Well, it couldn’t hurt to try.  _Yes, it ca-_ Shut up!

 Virgil brought a hand up to his neck, rubbing at it. He pointed to it and shrugged, hoping he indicated enough that he couldn’t speak.

 Logan frowned, trying to comprehend the motions. “Are you incapable of speech?” He asked, going off his own previous statement for context.

 Virgil nodded, trying to hide his nervousness about the human seeing through him. Of course, he was currently nervous and fearful of a lot of things right now. So, that was a bit difficult.

 “Well, that’s an unfortunate setback.” Logan pushed his glasses up. “But I suppose there’s nothing to be done about that. We’ll simply have to make do.”

 Virgil fidgeted with his sleeves, wondering what he was supposed to do now. Try and get away? But at this point in time, it would never work. The human was too focused on him and Virgil didn’t even want to  _think_  about what would happen if the human caught him mid-escape attempt. Virgil shuddered.

 “Are you cold?” Logan asked, noticing now how the creature shook.

 Virgil blinked, shaking his head.

 “Are you sure?” Logan pressed on, reaching a hand out to check. “You’re shivering.”

 As the hand approached, Virgil panicked, bringing his arms up as if that would protect him. He shook his head rapidly as he backed away.

 Logan paused, debating in his head. As much as he wanted to get his own readings on the state of his subject, he didn’t want to increase the being’s anxiousness, not now when he’d come so far. Begrudgingly, Logan returned his hand to its previous spot on the counter.

 Virgil sighed in relief, dropping his arms. This was getting to be too much. He hesitated, before motioning to himself and then whooshing his arms in another direction. Trying to act out him being let go.

 “…You want me to go away?” Logan furrowed his eyebrows, not quite understanding his signals. “You do realize that I live here? It is my apartment.”

 Virgil shook his head, though he wouldn’t mind the human going away. This time he pointed to the human, then himself and then did the whooshing motion.

 “You want me to take you somewhere.” Logan rubbed at his chin, puzzled.  _But where?_

 Virgil just barely stopped himself from groaning as he shook his head again. He repeated the motions, slower this time.

 “It’s two in the morning!” Logan said exasperatedly, taking a glance at the clock attached to the oven. “Where do you possibly want to go at this hour?”

 “I want you to let me go!” Virgil shouted before gasping and flinging his hands to his mouth. His eyes were wide with panic. What did he just do?

 Logan froze, staring wide-eyed right back at the tiny being. “You…you can talk…” He said slightly breathlessly.

 Once again, Virgil found tears pricking the corners of his eyes.  _Such a crybaby._ He vigorously shook his head no.

 “This is incredible.” Logan’s eyes began to shine with the possibilities. Ever since he had laid eyes on this creature he had been practically bursting with questions, and now he was blessed with an opportunity to actually get some answers. “You really can speak. Do you know how astounding that is? Why, given the size of your vocal cords I shouldn’t be able to understand you at all. But here we are! I would not believe it if it weren’t happening before my very eyes!”

 Virgil cowered, taking several more steps back as the human spoke. Virgil felt like he had made a terrible mistake.

 Logan pulled himself out of his ramblings, looking down at his finding. “What are you, anyways? Where did you come from?”

 Virgil simply shook his head, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to speak anyway. His throat felt tight, his chest heavy.

 Logan paused, noticing the creature’s fright. He frowned slightly. “Calm down.”  _And it had been going so well…_

 Was the human really telling him to calm down? He would if he  _could_.

 “Steady your breathing,” Logan advised. “I’m not going to harm you.”

 _Yeah, right._ Virgil had a hard time believing that. But Virgil did try to do as he said, wanting to be calm enough so he could plan his escape.

 “That’s it.” Logan was glad to note that progress was once again being made. “Your alarm is unfounded, seeing as I bear you no ill will. I simply wish to communicate.”

 Virgil’s heart still thudded against his chest faster than normal, but he felt calm enough. As calm as he could in a human’s presence at least.

 His eyes glanced to his exit again, wanting nothing more than to go home and be with Patton. Patton always knew how to calm him down.

 “Perhaps we should start off with introductions,” Logan said, not wanting to overwhelm the tiny humanoid again with too many questions. “My name is Logan. Logan Sanders.

 Virgil blinked and debated whether or not he should give his own name. He decided to stay silent for now, staring at the ground while hugging himself.

 “…And you are?” Logan prompted after a few minutes of silence.

 Virgil only hugged himself tighter, knowing he was making a mistake. But he didn’t want to give in to the human.

 “Really?” Logan raised an eyebrow at the continued silence. “You do realize this whole act is pointless, correct? I did just here you speak moments ago.”

 Virgil took a deep breath, but it still took several moments to psych himself up. “I want to be let go.” He muttered. He kept his head down.

 “I didn’t quite catch that,” Logan said, leaning a bit closer to hear.

 Virgil’s eyes widened as the human came closer and  _once again_  found himself moving back. At this rate, he was going to run out of counter and back himself right into a wall. That was not something he wanted.

 He was either incredibly brave or very  _very_  stupid as he lifted his head to glare at the human. “I  _said_ , I want to be let go!” He practically shouted, leaving no doubt that Logan would hear him this time.

 Logan flinched back slightly at the unexpected volume. “I did let you go.” Logan was visibly confused. “I released you from the drawer as well as the beaker. And my hands, one could say.”

 Virgil sighed in frustration. “I want to go  _home._ ”

 “Well, where do you live?” Logan asked, once again trying to discover more.

 Virgil opened his mouth but quickly shut it. He tensed when he realized how close he was to revealing that bit of information. There was no telling  _what_ Logan would do with it.

 Logan sighed. “You seem to be very bad at keeping a dialogue going.”

 _And you seem really bad at treating me like a person. Guess we both have things to work on._  He thought sarcastically. Despite himself, he didn’t speak.

 Deciding to resort to tactics that had yielded results previously, Logan leaned forward to reach out for the creature.

 Virgil’s eyes widened, and just like that, all his bravery was gone. “No!” He yelled out, moving his arms in front of him as if that would protect him.

 _Why is it always the same reaction?_  Logan noted in his head. Logan set his hand down on the counter, keeping it close to the miniature lifeform. “What is your name?” Logan asked.

 Scared of what Logan would do if he refused to answer this time, he spoke, watching the hand warily. “…Virgil.”

 “Virgil,” Logan repeated, drumming his fingers lightly on the counter. “And what exactly are you, Virgil?”

 Virgil winced, having expected the question but not prepared for it. He couldn’t just tell the human what he was. That went against  _everything_  he had ever been taught. But he had to say  _something_  or else Logan would most likely grab him. “I…can’t say.” He said, nervous to see how Logan would respond.

 “Can’t?” Logan’s fingers stopped as he was surprised by the answer. “What do you mean, can’t?”

 “I just  _can’t_ ,” Virgil repeated, channeling all his fear and anxiety into his hold on his left arm.

 “That’s not possible.” Logan reasoned. “You clearly possess the ability to speak. Do you mean that it’s difficult to explain? Perhaps it would take some time or some terms may be difficult for you to define?”

 Virgil cursed his luck, of getting stuck with a human with so many questions. And then Virgil remembered his earlier realization and fear took full control once again.

 Logan was a  _scientist_.

 Or, at least, very close to one. It was no wonder the human was asking so many questions. Wanted to know everything about him. He wanted to learn as much as he could before he stuck a needle in him. Would not answering prolong his fate? Would things end up worse for him?

 He was so caught up in his fear and thoughts, that he didn’t realize that he hadn’t spoken some sort of answer.


	5. Collecting Evidence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Virgil stops answering questions, Logan decides to find answers himself.

 “…I see.” Logan said, upon realizing he wasn’t going to receive any response. Though he may not be able to find out the exact name of Virgil’s kind, Logan could certainly classify the race with a scientific name based on characteristics if he only found out more about their livelihood.

 Logan reached out his hand once more, ready to get some answers by himself.

 The movement caught Virgil’s eye and brought him out of his thoughts. “No, stop!” He cowered.

 But this time, Logan did not listen. He grabbed Virgil firmly around the middle, lifting him off the countertop.

 _No, no, no, no, no!_  This was the last thing Virgil wanted to happen. He struggled in the grip, twisting his body every which way. “Let me go!” His voice cracked. It sounded less like a demand and much more like a plea.

 Logan did let him go, depositing him back into the large beaker. Once the fragile subject was secure, Logan carefully lifted the beaker into his arms and began walking towards his bedroom.

 Virgil scrambled to a seated position, eyes widening as he realized where he was. He yelped as Logan’s hand wrapped around the glass and lifted him. Through the open space not covered by Logan’s hand, Virgil saw the kitchen get farther and farther away. Virgil curled up, wondering what Logan was going to do. He should have just answered him.

 Logan set the beaker down on his desk, beginning to gather up some of the necessary materials. With a slight groan, he remembered he had left his bag in the living room. Rather than carry the beaker with him and risk dropping its precious cargo, Logan grabbed a nearby book and set it over the opening of the glass container to prevent any escape attempts while he was gone. Then, Logan left the room.

 Virgil stood as he watched Logan leave the room. Most likely going to get something. What that something was, Virgil did  _not_  want to find out. He looked up at the book blocking the top, glaring at it before he went up to the glass, placing a hand on it. Determination in his eyes, Virgil went to the opposite end and then rammed his shoulder into the wall. His arm stung and nothing happened, but that didn’t stop him from trying again. And again. And again.

 He didn’t even realize the tears streaming down his face. Both from the growing sting in his arm and the panic rising in him of what would happen when Logan came back.

 Logan returned with his bag in tow. He set it down, sitting down at the desk only to see that his little subject seemed to be repeatedly ramming itself against the glass wall.  _It would appear that these creatures have self-destructive tendencies._  Logan noted.

 “What are you doing?” Logan asked, removing the book to better see down into the container.

 Virgil, not having realized Logan had come back, was startled so much he slipped mid ram and fell on his butt. He gripped his arm as he stared up at Logan’s distorted face. He couldn’t just tell the human he was trying to escape. But, then again, he had to say  _something_ , didn’t he?

 “I was…uh…” He trailed off, mind going blank.

 “…Hmm.” Logan gave a disappointed noise, jotting something down in a notebook. “Perhaps not as intelligent as previously hypothesized.” Logan turned to the sharpie marks on his arm, beginning to copy those down into the notebook as well.

 “Hey!” Virgil shouted, offended before his hand flung to his mouth. He groaned. Why couldn’t he just keep it shut?

 “Well, you’re certainly welcome to prove me wrong,” Logan commented, having forgotten for a moment that Virgil was listening.

 Virgil bit his lip. He would much rather Logan think of him like that, then try to ‘prove’ it. Knowing proving it would mean revealing things about himself and others of his kind and that was something he just couldn’t do.

 He would protect Patton no matter what.

 “That’s what I expected.” Logan made a ‘ _tsk_ ’ noise at the lack of response. “How disappointingly predictable.” A few minutes passed in silence, Logan diligently focused solely on scribbling down his notes for future reference. Finally satisfied that he had caught up to the present, Logan now pulled out his phone to collect photographic evidence. He held it up to the glass, taking a few pictures from various angles.

 Virgil instinctively covered his face with his arm, eyes wide. “What-What are you doing?” He asked, panicked.

 “Photographing.” Logan frowned as he looked at the photos he had taken. The glass made the image appear too distorted and blurry. Still examining his phone, Logan reached his free hand into the beaker to retrieve Virgil.

 Virgil yelped and squirmed in the grip, but he knew it was useless. There was no getting out of Logan’s grip unless the human himself put him down.

 Virgil thought over the word, recognizing it almost immediately. “No! You can’t-you can’t do that!” If Virgil’s picture got out, that would be it. The end of borrowers.

 “Why not?” Logan was a bit thrown by Virgil’s verbal objection. He hadn’t expected the being to understand photography. He held Virgil up in his hand, snapping a few photos now that Virgil was out in the open.

 Virgil tried to turn his head away as he heard the sounds of the device, even though he knew the point of the photo was to show his size and not his features. Still, it was the only physical way for him to fight against it.

 “People…humans  _can’t_  know that I exist,” Virgil explained after a lot of hesitation. “They would…would…” Virgil couldn’t even bring himself to  _think_  of all the horrible things they would do.

 Logan set the phone down, paying more attention now that Virgil was once again speaking. “Why can’t humans know your kind exists?”

 Virgil opened his mouth, closed it and thought. Logan was really going to make him say it. “I…don’t want to become a pet.”

 “…Oh.” Logan was genuinely thrown off guard with this response. He had expected a more survival-based, ‘not wanting to die’ line of reasoning. This concern with captivity was certainly a more human response, and it would explain the self-destructive tendencies. Many proud individuals often spoke of rather dying than being kept under lock and key.

 “Has that been a problem in the past?” Logan asked, wondering if perhaps these creatures were actually some rare genetically-mutated breed of pets; or perhaps it was true that some had been discovered in the past and treated as such. This second thought made Logan feel a tad jealous in a small way, as he hoped to be the first to make this discovery.

 Virgil thought back to all the horror stories he had been told. “…Yes.” Just like it was a problem for him, now.

 “I see.” Logan tried not to visibly deflate at the realization his findings were not unique. “Have many of your species been treated that way? I’ve certainly never even heard of a creature like you, so it’s hard to imagine there are many cases on the subject. At the very least I doubt a proper scientific log has ever been filled out.”

 Virgil couldn’t even find it in himself to be surprised that Logan had already figured out there were more of his kind. It just made sense after all, so there was no use arguing about it. “It hasn’t happened a lot, no. And the humans that have managed to find us, we’ve either escaped or…” Virgil swallowed thickly. “They got bored…” He hoped that maybe explaining this to the human would at least discourage him from doing anything with the pictures. At the most, he hoped to be let go.

 “Do many of your kind exist?” Logan asked, beginning to try and calculate the probability of encounters. His mind began to jump between trains of thought. “Where do you usually take up residence? Is this at least your first encounter?”

 Virgil continued to twist in Logan’s grip. It was pretty tight… “I don’t know,” Virgil answered, truthfully. “…And yes, if I had been caught before I would not have been around for you to catch.” Virgil said, looking down.

 “Not necessarily.” Logan pointed out. “You stated yourself that they often either escape or are released.”

 Virgil blinked. “I never said they were released…”

 “No, but I made a logical assumption,” Logan said. “If a person is bored of a pet they often release it or return it. Although in this case, only one seems plausible given you didn’t originate from a place of business.”

 Did Virgil really have to spell it out? “No, I mean, they were  _never_ released. The humans got  _bored_  of them. As in…as in  _death_. They  _killed_  them.” Virgil explained, visibly upset over the subject.

 “ _…Oh_.” Even Logan had enough sense to adopt a more morose attitude. “I’m… so sorry for my misunderstanding.” Only now did Logan realize how long he had been holding Virgil, and he took this moment to set the tiny being down on the desk.

 Virgil was just happy to be free of the grip. He winced as he tried to move his right arm though. Ramming into the glass probably hadn’t been his best idea.

 But Virgil now had a spark of hope after hearing the human apologize. “So, do you see why you should delete the photos? And-And let me go?”

 “…Well, to be honest, no,” Logan admitted. “I can see how the topic of humanity is a sore subject for you, but that doesn’t mean it has to remain that way. It is entirely possible that those instances originated mainly due to ignorance; if more people knew of your kind, there would be a higher probability for more favorable outcomes.”

 And at those words, Virgil’s hopes shattered. “But that’s…no…” Humans wouldn’t change. At least, not all of them. Not the majority of them.

 “It’s likely hard for you to see that this will benefit you in the end,” Logan explained. “But I’m sure with time you’ll adjust and realize it’s for the best.”

 “No…no, no, no, no, n-” Virgil’s breath hitched, getting stuck in his throat. Eyes wide, his hands went to wrap around his neck, a sound of distress escaping his lips. His inability to breath only made his panic worsen and in turn, made it even harder to breath. It was not a good cycle to be stuck in.

 “…Are you alright?” Logan asked, leaning closer as the creature’s movements began to get frantic. Logan worried that this might be more of those destructive tendencies, and he began preparing to intervene should the creature try to harm itself.

 Virgil barely even registered the human’s voice as his vision began to darken around the edges. He was feeling dizzy, lightheaded from the lack of oxygen. Finally, he fell to his knees, before slumping over onto the ground. Unconscious.

 Logan watched as the little person fainted before his eyes. “Well, that’s not ideal,” Logan commented. Perhaps he had overwhelmed it slightly.

 The biology student gently picked up the limp form, relieved to see the tiny rising and falling of Virgil’s chest. Logan decided it would be best to let him rest, placing Virgil back down at the bottom of the glass beaker.

 Logan glanced at the clock. It was still late at night, but he had a lot of work to do. Logan finally removed his gloves, deciding they would be unnecessary for now as he had no plans to come in contact with the subject over the course of the night.

 He began to prioritize his tasks; first, he sent out an email to his professor asking for his availability. Next, Logan jotted down a series of observations and hypotheses into his notebook. Over the course of a few hours, Logan used the printer on his desk to add some paper copies of the photos he had taken to the notebook as well.

 Logan continued perfecting his findings far into the night, pleased to see that everything seemed to be coming together.


	6. A Few Small Requests

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman and Patton have a 100% pleasant morning where everybody is equally happy to be there. :)  
> ...or not.

When Patton awoke the next morning, it was to a familiar weight on his body. But not that of his blanket. He opened his eyes they widened at the sight of a large hand and suddenly the memories from the night before came back to him. A human- _Roman_  had caught him. **  
**

He did his best to look around and saw he was still on the human’s chest. Not wanting to stay there, Patton decided to try to once again get away. Maybe Roman’s grip had loosened during the night? So, he did his best to shimmy and crawl out from underneath the hand.

Roman groaned in his sleep, pulling Patton closer.

Patton yelped when the grip shifted and undid his escape attempt. The grip was now tighter around him as well. He squirmed. “R-Roman!” He called out, not seeing any other way out.

“Hmm?” Roman made a sound of contentment, still mostly unconscious yet recognizing his name.

“P-Please wake up!” Never thought he’d say that to a human. Patton squirmed some more, the grip bordering on the line of uncomfortable and painful.

Roman slowly began to join the waking world. He looked down when he felt movement. Roman stared for several long seconds down at the borrower before recognition dawned on his face.

“Good morning, Patton!” Roman sat up, pulling Patton up to his cheek to give him a proper hug as a grin stretched across his face.

“Ah!” Patton suddenly found him squished against Roman’s cheek. What was the human doing? Was this supposed to be…a hug? “Um…good morning, Roman.” He said after a few moments of hesitation.

Roman threw off the covers, heading towards the kitchen as he remembered his promise. “We are going to have such an amazing day together!”

“O-Oh?” Patton couldn’t help but wonder how likely it was for Roman to let him go at this point. But like last night, he was too scared and surprisingly too guilty, to bring it up.

“Yes, it is sure to be a wonderful adventure!” Roman exclaimed, getting giddy at the mere thought of all the things he could do with a tiny borrower. “But first, breakfast.” Roman set Patton on his shoulder to free his hands as he worked food preparations.

Patton gripped tightly to the folds of Roman’s shirt, trying to keep his balance. Roman’s excitement would almost be infectious, if not for Patton practically being trapped here with the human.

He decided to distract himself with watching as Roman cooked. He quickly found himself fascinated by the movements. “What are you making again?” He asked.

“Pancakes.” Roman said with a smile, whipping up a batch of batter. “And I can make eggs too, but I think we’ll just need pancakes. After all, we don’t want to waste the day away on food! But don’t you worry, these will be the best pancakes in all the land!”

Patton would be lying if he said he wasn’t looking forward to it, at least a little bit. He had never had warm food before or pancakes. At least he would get to experience that. Not that he should get used to it of course. He-He couldn’t stay here. He didn’t _want_ to stay here. Not-Not forever.

Roman had moved on to the griddle, beginning to  pour some of the batter into various shapes.

“Oh my goodness I just had the most amazing idea.” Roman said with a gasp. “I can make tiny pancakes just your size!” Roman began carefully pouring droplets for just such a thing, getting excited at the cuteness of it.

“Oh!” That actually sounded quite nice and thoughtful. “Uh, thanks!”

“Oops.” Roman said, having already burnt one of the droplets. He quickly scraped it off to try again. “This is hard getting them small enough.” Roman stuck his tongue out slightly as he concentrated. Finally succeeding, Roman put the lil’ stack of pancakes onto a plate. He set the plate down on the counter, reaching up to his shoulder to put Patton down next to it.

“…and they’re still too big.” Roman sighed in realization, now seeing the comparison between the smaller pancakes and Patton. “You’re smaller than I was picturing.”

Patton’s awestruck expression at the pancakes and the actual  _heat_ coming off of them, was interrupted at Roman’s latter statement and he frowned as he stared up at the human. “I’m not  _that_ small. I’m a whole 4 inches tall!” Which, to be fair, Virgil was still taller than him. But still!

Roman couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of 4 inches being ‘tall’. “Wow, and you’re still shorter than I would have guessed!” He flipped the larger pancakes on the griddle, watching them turn a nice golden brown.

Patton bit his lip and looked away, hugging himself. Sure, he felt small when he was outside of the walls, it was clear the world was not meant for them, but for humans. But Roman was making him feel even _smaller._

Roman finished cooking his own breakfast, pulling out a second plate. He set the pancakes on it before turning off the griddle. Looking down at them, he chuckled. “Hey Patton, I bet even these are taller than four inches.” Roman teased, lifting one of the pancakes slightly to try and compare.

Patton backed up a few steps, looking at the pancake and then at Roman. He continued to frown, not seeing why Roman thought it was so funny. Or continued to bring it up. Patton already knew he was small, thank you very much. He didn’t need constant reminders.

Instead of answering Roman in any way, he turned back towards his own stack of pancakes. They were still fairly large, but much easier to handle than a normal sized pancake would have been. He carefully took it in his hands, being mindful of the heat and took a bite.

His face lit up.

Roman put the pancake down, watching Patton eagerly. “Do you like it?” Roman said in a hopeful tone, leaning forwards in anticipation.

Patton nodded and took another bite. It was so warm! And fluffy! And-And-

It was probably the best thing Patton had ever had. It was hard to think that most humans ate like this everyday. It was hard not to envy the humans because of that.

“Oh, I’m so glad.” Roman smiled before digging into his own pancakes.

Patton continued to eat his pancake as silence fell over the room. Roman didn’t seem to have a problem with it, but it was making Patton a bit nervous. And making him think.

Roman seemed…good right now. Maybe, if Patton asked to be let go again…maybe the answer would change?

Or Roman would get mad again.

That thought alone made Patton pause, but he had to ask. Right?

Patton swallowed his last bite of food. “Hey, um, Roman? Remember when you said I could…ask you anything?”

“Mhmm.” Roman nodded, his mouth still full.

“Well, um, this has been great so far, really!” Patton held back a wince at his lying. “You have been um, really considerate and nice! And the pancakes you made were amazing!” Patton figured it might be better to say some good things first, to butter Roman up a bit. Even if that did mean lying a bit.

“Aww, why thank you!” Roman swallowed so he could answer. “I’ve been having a wonderful time with you as well, I’m so glad that you changed your tune and decided to stick around.”

“W-What?” Patton’s face morphed into one of panic, before he realized that might be a bad idea and forced a smile. “I-I mean, yeah! Yeah…” Well there was no way Patton could ask now. Roman would surely be angry with him.

“So, what was your question?” Roman asked, beginning to gather up the dishes. Patton still seemed nervous around him, for whatever reason, so Roman wanted to encourage the borrower to speak up.

“Oh,”  _Shoot._  “You know what? Silly me, I seemed to have forgotten what I was gonna ask!” He laughed a little, hoping it didn’t come off as too nervous sounding.

“Ah, I hate it when that happens.” Roman said in sympathy, putting the dishes in the sink. He clapped his hands together, turning back to face Patton with an excited demeanor. “So! What shall we do first, tom thumb?”

Patton looked up at Roman in confusion. “Um…my name is Patton.” He said.

“It’s just a nickname.” Roman clarified. “Because you’re so similar to fairy tales like tom thumb. Or you could be thumbelina, I suppose, if you prefer.”

Patton still wasn’t sure what that meant, so he decided to ignore it. He thought back to Roman’s question. “I’m not sure…what do you usually do?”

“Well, I have to go to class in a little bit.” Roman frowned at the clock. “But I think that would leave us just enough time to watch a Disney movie! I thought that’d be fun, since you seemed to like it so much last night when I caught you watching along.”

Patton winced at the reminder of his stupid mistake and the reason he was in this mess of a situation to begin with. But, at the same time, a movie might at least be a good distraction. “That sounds good.” Patton agreed.

“Great!” Roman quickly grabbed Patton up in his fist, happily making his way to the living room.

Patton yelped and immediately squirmed in the grasp on instinct.

“Woah, hey, calm down Patton.” Roman glanced down at the borrower out of the corner of his eye. “Take it easy, it’s just me.”

At Roman’s words, Patton forced himself to stop, though there was nothing he could do about the shaking. “S-Sorry. It’s just…” Would this be alright for Patton to say? Guess he would find out. “I was a bit…um, surprised when you suddenly picked me up…” Patton down.

“Oh, sorry.” Roman apologized, sitting down on the couch and grabbing the remote. He began scrolling through the titles. “I was just excited. Hey, do you have any preferences?”

Still in Roman’s fist, Patton had to twist his head around in order to see the options on the TV. The amount of movies was overwhelming. “Well, I never got to finish the movie from last night?” Patton said, betting on that being a safe choice.

“Well, tinkerbell’s just fine and dandy, but it’s no Aladdin.” Roman scrolled right past the fairy movie without giving it a second glance. “If you want to get a real Disney experience, we simply must start there.” Roman smiled, pressing play.

“Oh…okay.” Patton wasn’t a huge fan of how Roman ignored him, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He realized as the movie began to play that he was still in Roman’s fist.

“Can…Can you put me down, please?” Patton asked, a little hesitant.

“Hmm?” Only now did Roman notice he was still holding Patton. “Oh yeah, sure thing ya squirmy stuart little.” Roman set the borrower down on the armrest, keeping his hand wrapped gently around Patton in the same manner as a blanket draped across shoulders. Roman rubbed his fingers along Patton’s side almost subconsciously as the film began.

Patton wasn’t sure this was much better, maybe even worse as Roman’s finger rubbed his side. He could barely pay attention to the movie, too tense and focused on Roman’s hand around him. So, being cautious, Patton scooted forward a bit.

“Oh, careful there Pat.” Roman commented, slipping his fingers in front of Patton as he felt the borrower adjust. “Don’t want to fall off the edge now, would we?”

Patton yelped at the sudden sight of fingers and ended up scooting back to his previous position. Well, it looked like he was stuck.

Patton sighed and turned his attention back to the movie. Trying his best to ignore the hand practically wrapped around him.


	7. Logan oh no baby what is you doin'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil wants to stay home, but Logan has other plans.

 Logan let out a small yawn, glancing at the clock. It seemed he had accidentally pulled an all-nighter, and a glance at the light streaming in through the window indicated it was already well into the morning. Looking down at his notebook Logan decided that it had been worth it. Over 50 pages of various well-documented observations and hypotheses laid before him. Though it was only a start, it was at the very least a strong one. This was sure to win him the adoration of his professor as he figured out the next steps to properly documenting a newfound biological discovery.

 Virgil groaned, feeling disoriented as he came back to consciousness. He carefully opened his eyes, blinking rapidly at the bright light. Which was strange in its own right. Since when did any light reach him in the walls?

 When he was finally able to see and saw the towering glass walls that surrounded him, his memories from the night before came rushing back. He gasped as he sat up, looking around until his eyes met the human’s. Logan. He stared up at him with wide eyes.

 “Good morning,” Logan said, noticing the tiny fellow was once again finally awake. “I’m glad you’re once again conscious, you have been out of it for quite some time.”

 Virgil wished he was still out of it. He couldn’t believe this wasn’t just some bad dream. He was  _actually_  captured by a human! He put his head in between his knees and did his best to calm himself down. A panic attack this early in the morning was never fun. And wouldn’t help him at all.

 Realizing that Virgil still did not seem to be feeling very social at this early hour, Logan returned his attention back to his notebook. He began to pack up the papers, carefully storing it all within the confines of his book bag. Then, making sure the textbook was once again securely covering the top of the beaker to prevent any escape attempts now that the creature was awake, Logan left the room.

 Virgil’s head snapped up as he heard the sound of the chair move and carefully watched as Logan got up and silently walked out of the room. Where was he going? Was he going to get things to test or whatever on him? Was he simply taking a break? Now that he was thinking about it, it seemed like Logan didn’t sleep at all last night. While he had passed out and had been asleep all this time.

 Virgil shivered at the idea of being around a human whilst unconscious. He stood up, legs still a bit shaky, but he managed. He looked out of the glass and around him. Why? He wasn’t sure, it wasn’t like he could use anything to get out. He was well and truly trapped.

 Logan stifled yet another yawn as he re-entered the room, this time with a coffee mug in hand. He sat down at his desk, taking a few slow sips as he once again observed Virgil.

 Virgil flinched, backing away to put a little more distance between him and the human, even though he knew it didn’t matter. Hesitantly, he met the human’s gaze. “W-What?” He stuttered out, shoulders tense.

 “Oh, just trying to figure out how this is going to work,” Logan said in an almost bored tone, still scrutinizing him.

 Virgil didn’t like the sound of that. “How…what, is-is going to work?” He asked, backing up a bit more, but any more and he would hit the opposite side.

 “Travelling.” Logan supposed it was likely the lack of sleep that made him so susceptible to explaining things aloud to his finding. Not to mention, he was desperate to discuss his plans with quite literally anyone. “It seems a bit too inconspicuous to be carrying you around in a large glass beaker, what with it both being transparent and cumbersome. Not to mention the texture is not meant to be gripped for long periods of time, and my grip is more likely to slip on the smooth glass.”

 Logan leaned back in his chair slightly, looking contemplative. “But on the other hand I don’t currently possess any carriers suitable for carrying live cargo, and I am not quick to put my trust into the materials that compose the few bags I do have laying about. Frankly many are fraying, or seem unsuitable for creating a breathable environment.”

 Virgil’s panic only continued to grow the more Logan spoke. “Wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait-” Virgil ran a hand through his hair. “I-I’m not going  _anywhere_!” He wasn’t sure where Logan wanted to take him, but it couldn’t be anywhere good.

 “Oh, so you’ve become attached to this particular piece of glass, then?” Logan scoffed, sleep deprivation making him more sarcastic than usual.

 “No!” Virgil glared at him. “I mean, I’m not leaving the _building_. And I’m certainly not going anywhere with  _you._ ” Virgil’s glare quickly faded and was replaced by a pleading look.

 “Please,  _please_ just let me go home,” Virgil begged.

 “Look, please don’t make this more difficult than it has to be.” Logan sighed, rubbing at his temples. “This is already going to be difficult enough to find a proper method of transportation without you fighting me every step of the way.”

 It seemed Logan wasn’t even listening to him, which wasn’t much of a surprise. But still. Virgil hugged himself and looked down.

 Logan’s eyes wandered around his room, searching for a solution. His eyes landed on his shirt and stayed there for an unusually long amount of time. Whether this was due to something he spotted or the wheels in his head turning more slowly than was normal this morning, it was hard to say. However, eventually, the article of clothing seemed to inspire a brilliant idea in his now caffeinated brain.

 “I suppose a pocket will just have to do,” Logan said with a small, decisive nod.

 _Wait, what?_  Virgil followed Logan’s gaze down to his shirt pocket and he tensed. “No, no absolutely not,” Virgil spoke aloud without realizing.

 “Any reasoning behind this particular objection?” Logan raised an eyebrow, turning back to Virgil. “Or is this just another instance in which you repeatedly object to every one of my actions?”

 Virgil grit his teeth.  _Well, did you ever think there might be a reason for that?_  He wanted to say but stopped himself. It wouldn’t do well to get the human angry and he was already pushing his luck from his previous outbursts. So, he stayed silent.

 “That’s what I presumed.” Logan finished off his coffee, setting the mug down before once again leaving the room to get dressed and prepare for the day. He paused to gaze into the mirror, adjusting his tie slightly as he gave himself a mental pep talk.  _You can do this. This is your chance. You’ve been preparing your whole life for this break. Don’t ruin it._ Logan cringed slightly at that last thought, running a brush through his hair before coming back out.

 “I seem to be running a bit ahead of schedule,” Logan commented, looking at his watch. But of course he was; Logan would never dream of being late to anything in his life. Especially a meeting as important as today.

 Logan removed the textbook from atop the beaker, before gathering up the entire glass container in his hands again to transfer it to the kitchen.

 Virgil yelped as Logan suddenly picked up the glass, stumbling and falling against one side. He winced at the sting that shot up through his arm-of course it had to be the one that was still hurt from yesterday-and he fell into a heap on the ground. He looked up to see that they were once again back in the kitchen.  _What was Logan doing now?_

 Logan set the beaker onto the counter, opening the drawer to gather up a new pair of gloves. Once these were equipped he reached his hands in to pull out Virgil.

 Once again, Virgil tried to squirm away, to push himself more into the floor. But, of course, it was no use. Virgil was just too  _small_  to do anything against the human. So he found himself once again trapped in a fist. That didn’t stop him from struggling against the grip though.

 Logan transferred Virgil to one hand, using his free fingers to try and gently open Virgil’s mouth in order to view his teeth.

 Virgil froze as the human’s fingers came up to his face before he  _really_  started struggling. Flailing his limbs and hitting Logan’s fingers as much as he could. He wasn’t sure what Logan was trying to do, but he didn’t like it  _at all_. “Stop!”

 Logan did pause, pulling his fingers back to focus on keeping a firm grip on Virgil. It would be a shame if he fell. “Do you have any dietary restrictions?”

 “H-Huh?” Virgil stuttered out, still more focused on the fingers surrounding him. At least Logan had moved away from his face.

 “What do you eat.” Logan rephrased his question. “I was trying to figure out what sustenance might be best for you based on your dental structure, but if you’re willing to cooperate that would be just as effective, I suppose.”

 Virgil would much rather speak, then go through  _that_ again. “I, um, can eat anything.” Virgil said with a shrug. “I’m not exactly picky either.” He mumbled the last part. He couldn’t afford to be picky.

 “I highly doubt your stomach acids are truly capable of handling quite literally  _anything._ ” Logan huffed. “Do you mean anything within a human diet?”

 Virgil simply nodded. He shifted in the grip, wishing Logan would just put him down.

 “Are you primarily carnivorous or a herbivore?” Logan continued. “What foods usually make up your meals from day to day?”

 Virgil shrugged. “It…depends. On what I find that day. Usually, it’s just…I don’t know, some bread crumbs, or a chip someone dropped. If I’m lucky I might manage to get some cereal.” Virgil explained.

 “So you’re a scavenger.” Logan supposed this made sense. “That should make things easier. Do you have any preferences, then?” Logan added on this last question in an attempt to be polite more than anything.

 “Um, not really.” Virgil hesitated, before mumbling, “maybe something warm?” Half of him hoped Logan didn’t even hear him. But the other half, well, he can’t deny that it would be nice to try some actual warm food.

 “Something warm?” Logan was puzzled slightly by this statement. What an odd request. “Why, are you cold?” He certainly didn’t feel cold, although the gloves might have been hindering Logan’s perception of temperature.

 _Crap, he had heard him._  “N-No…just…I’ve never had it before, okay?” Virgil said, looking anywhere else but at the human.

 “Oh.” Logan said. The statement was a bit…depressing. Logan chose not to dwell on it. “Well, in that case perhaps it’d be best if we avoid warm foods for now. It would be foolhardy to adjust your diet more than necessary as it may have adverse effects on your health.” He didn’t want to risk anything happening to his discovery mere hours before the presentation.

 Virgil deflated slightly, but really, it was his own fault for getting his hopes up. Whatever. Food was food and like he said before, he wasn’t picky. “Then whatever you have around is fine.” Virgil mumbled.

 Logan set Virgil back into the beaker, going over and grabbing a granola bar from the cupboard. He split off a small chunk, lowering it into the beaker to offer it up. “Here you are.”

 Virgil frowned when he was put back in the beaker, but at least he was out of Logan’s hands. He hesitated before taking the food from Logan. He looked it over, not knowing what it was. He took a bite and let out a satisfied hum. It was really good. And it tasted a lot fresher than what he usually ate too.

 Logan consumed the rest of the bar himself, trying to restore his energy levels as well. Then he leaned against the counter, waiting for the small creature to finish.

 It didn’t take long for Virgil to finish it, as he practically scarfed it down. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was, though he supposed it had been a few days since he last ate. If he remembers correctly, he ate a piece of bread the night before Logan caught him. He wiped the excess crumbs off of him.

 “Satisfied?” Logan asked.

 With his current situation, heck no. Not like he was gonna say that though. “Yeah.” Virgil answered simply, along with a shrug.

 With this answer, the human decided it was time to get going. Logan reached in with one hand, gathering up Virgil once more. His other hand moved to open up the small pocket that resided on the left side of Logan’s chest. Carefully, Logan deposited the tiny being inside.

 Virgil really should have been expecting the sudden grabbing, but he didn’t. And he really didn’t expect to end up in Logan’s pocket so soon. He struggled to sit up in the fabric. “H-Hey!”

 “Yes?” Logan tried to ignore the strange sensation as he returned to his bedroom. This would certainly take some time to adjust.

 “Let me out!” Virgil yelled, moving around more. “I don’t want to go!” It was just now really hitting him that Logan was about to take him somewhere. Most likely with a lot more humans around and that was the last thing Virgil wanted.

 “Please be quiet.” Logan sighed, trying to ignore the tiny icky feeling in his chest at Virgil’s protests. He gathered up his bag, making sure the strap did not overlap with the pocket. “I thought you stated you wished to keep a low profile. If you still intend to do so, it would be unwise to continue shouting at me out in public.”

 Virgil hadn’t been planning to do anything of the sort while in public, it’s just, he didn’t want to  _go out_  in public in the  _first place_. He decided to try one more time. “Please Logan, I can just stay here! Just leave me in the beaker, I’ll be fine!” It was better than going out in public at least.

 “No, that would be counterproductive.” Logan shook his head. He didn’t want to fully explain his motives for taking Virgil out, for fear of restarting those self-destructive tendencies. Logan did one last check around the room to make sure he didn’t forget anything before grabbing his keys and heading to the front door.

 “I’m leaving the apartment now.” Logan narrated, looking briefly down at his pocket while he locked the front door. “So keep a low profile, alright?”


	8. A Dee-lightful Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan meets with his professor with the intention of discussing his findings.

Logan stopped in front of the door, taking a deep breath. Before he could lose his nerve, Logan rapped on the door three times. **  
**

“Come in.” Came a voice from the other side, so Logan let himself in. Inside was a lavishly dressed office, complete with a solid oak desk and a plaque reading “Doctor Dee, Dean of Biological Studies”. Sitting in a large leather armchair sat the man who held this title. Dr. Dee was a brilliant man, having gained his title after only ten years at the University. Logan had only met with him a handful of times in the past, and though the man had his quirks (and at times, questionable practices) it was clear why he was at the top of the field.

“Ah, Logan.” The doctor looked up from his work, greeting Logan with a smile. “Please, have a seat.” Logan nodded, taking a seat in one of the two hardwood chairs available this side of the desk. It was rather uncomfortable, forcing Logan to sit up stiffly.

“Thank you for meeting with me this morning, Dr. Dee.” Logan stuck out his hand, initiating a brief shake.

“I always make time for our most promising students.” Dee released Logan’s hand, leaning back into his chair. “But, that being said, I am a busy man. What brings you into my office this morning?”

“Yes, of course sir.” Logan nodded. He knew it was best to get straight to the point, but he wanted to first manage the professor’s expectations. “Are you aware with the square cube law?”

“Logan, I’m a scientist, not a mathematician.” The doctor scoffed. “I don’t trifle with their theories nowadays. I’m a more practical man.”

“Oh, right.” Logan cleared his throat. “Well, the reason I bring it up is because I’ve been considering the existence of tiny humanoid creatures. Now, the square cube law disputes this possibility, but I have here-” Logan began to reach towards his pocket, but before he could pull out Virgil the doctor interrupted him.

“Hold on there, Sanders.” Dee frowned. “What do you mean, tiny humanoid creatures?”

“Well, I mean just that.” Logan held his hands a few inches apart for scale. “A creature that appears to be human, but is only a few inches tall.”

“Are you talking about fairy tales?” Dee laughed, but his voice held little joy.

“No, I assure you I’m quite serious-” Logan attempted to explain himself, but was once again interrupted.

“You know, I used to be quite fond of fairy tales.” The professor said, staring off dreamily into space. “I was obsessed with the idea of fairies or elves or other tiny creatures prancing about in my backyard.”

“That’s...wonderful, sir.” Logan wasn’t sure where this conversation was going, but he knew better than to try and direct the topic back to himself and risk encouraging Dee’s wrath. From tales of other professors and students, it was best to let Dee monologue.

“Sometimes, I’d even picture they got into the house.” The doctor chuckled to himself. “Of course, I could never prove it. I told my parents, but no one believed me. I’ll admit the idea drove me a bit...mad.” Dee gave a knowing look at Logan. “Of course, anyone would be paranoid if they thought tiny people were running around their home.”

“Y-yes sir.” Logan frowned slightly, suddenly very aware of his chest pocket.

“Back then I wanted to catch one more than anything.” Dee leaned forwards, looking a bit eager. “I’m not sure what I would’ve done if I caught one, though. Probably kept it in a jar, showed it off to everyone. Little thing would probably end up starving to death. Shame I wasn’t a very responsible child.”

“Well, very few of us are.” Logan liked to think of himself as responsible in his youth. Certainly responsible enough to keep Virgil from starving to death. The prospect was quite morbid. “And what...what would you do if you found one, now?”

“Now?” Dr. Dee stuck his lip out, looking up contemplatively as he tilted his head side to side. “Well, certainly keep it in captivity. Study its behaviors. You know, that’s actually quite an interesting idea. If it were truly human in behavior, it would be the perfect candidate for psychological testing.”

“Psychological testing?” Logan repeated.

“Yes, because we’d be able to study a “human” subject, more or less, without violating human testing ethics.” Dee explained, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “If we were able to cultivate a large enough population, we could even find answers to more moral gray areas, such as the human responses to pain and fear. I wonder if their screams would be muted due to the size of their vocal pipes. I’d hope not, it’d be a lot harder to test their pain tolerance.”

While Logan was always a man of science, this idea was getting too dark even for him. Human morals were the only things separating man from beast. It would be inhumane to force Virgil’s kind into such a state, regardless of their official human-ness. Logan felt himself beginning to pale at the thought of what his own actions might set into motion should he reveal Virgil to Dee. Logan clenched and unclenched his sweaty palms, mind racing as he mentally walked the line between morality and logic.

“But of course, that’s all theoretical.” The doctor snapped out of his musings with a laugh. “These are just fairy tales, right?” Logan felt Virgil’s form shaking with fear in his pocket, and Logan’s heart ached as he knew he couldn’t do it.

“R-right.” Logan said with a weak chuckle, bringing his hand up to try and steady both Virgil and his own racing heart.

“Ah, look at me, getting carried away again.” Dee shook his head. “You’re a man of logic, Logan. I can tell. You didn’t come here to talk childhood dreams.” The professor crossed his arms on the desk. “You came to talk business.”

“Well, ah, yes, but, you see…” Logan struggled to come up with the right words, now having no purpose for being in this office and frankly wanting to leave it as soon as possible. “...it was actually more of a hypothetical question, to be honest. Considering the square cube law does exist, it’s quite impossible, is it not?”

Dee looked at Logan for a long time, and it felt as though his eyes lingered on Logan’s pocket for a second too long before meeting Logan’s gaze with a stare that said  _you tell me_. Logan broke the gaze, fiddling with his glasses as a distraction.

“I suppose it is.” The doctor sighed, leaning back in his chair. “Those darned mathematicians and their laws of nature.”

“Ah, curse them.” Logan quipped, giving a small snap of his fingers.

“It was certainly an interesting theory.” Dee admitted. “But I would suggest you focus your energies back on practical matters. You’re not going to get accepted into my masters program with a thesis on theories alone, you know.”

“Of course, sir.” Logan stood up, putting out his hand for a parting handshake. Dee stood as well, returning the gesture. “I’ll be sure to focus back on my studies.”

“That’s a good boy.” The professor praised, walking Logan to the door. “Glad to hear it.”

“Thank you once again for your time.” Logan waved in parting. The doctor waved back before shutting the door, and Logan finally let out a sigh of relief he didn’t know he had been holding.

Virgil couldn’t help but feel relief when Logan left the room and he was still hidden away. He had been wary when he had heard another voice speak and then had to keep himself from falling into a panic attack when he heard Logan talk about the the existence of tiny humanoid creatures and realizing what Logan had planned on doing.

Logan was going to reveal him to this ‘doctor dee’ person, in the name of  _science_. But his panic to that, was almost nothing in comparison to when Doctor Dee started to speak.

Virgil had chills just thinking about it, but the entire time he couldn’t stop himself from shaking in fear. Despite how hard he was trying to keep still since he was in Logan’s pocket, after all. Virgil’s fears were proven true the more Doctor Dee continued to speak.

Virgil feared being shown off even more, especially if it was to this particular human. Who he knew would ensure that all of what he said would happen to him and his kind.

But then, Logan must have changed his mind, because he didn’t show Virgil off. In fact, Logan had been tense for most of Dee’s talk. His heart beating almost has hard as his own. Had Logan really had a change of heart? Had seen that Virgil was right? And if so, did that mean Logan would let him go?

He hoped so.

Logan could not believe he had almost made such a colossal mistake. He hit himself lightly on the forehead as he walked through the halls. How could he have been so  _stupid_? Virgil was right to fear the discovery of his people. Clearly this was a secret Logan had to guard carefully. Though he was still filled with curiosity, this was not a discovery Logan could share with anyone else. He would have to be sure to destroy the evidence of his findings as well, lest it fall into the wrong hands.

With how poorly the meeting went, Logan found himself not in his right mind. He was so preoccupied with what to do next that he forgot to watch where he was going, and ended up crashing straight into a stranger who had been bolting around the corner.


	9. An Unfortunate Tumble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> blink and you'll miss it. 0.0 what...just happened?

Roman kept shooting Patton glances throughout the film, trying to figure out if the borrower was enjoying himself. It was hard to tell, what with Patton still acting so stiff and scared all the time, but it seemed like he enjoyed it. Roman was glad, and as the credits began to roll he wondered if they could keep this good energy going. Roman picked up his phone, checking the time.

 Roman blinked, trying to process what he saw on the digital clock.

 “I’m late!” Roman gasped, quickly grabbing Patton up in a fist and rushing to his bedroom.

 “Ahh!” Patton yelled as he was suddenly engulfed in a fist. He squirmed in the grip as he became a little dizzy due to how fast Roman was moving.

 “R-Roman!” He called out, hoping it would get him to at least slow down a little.

 “Sorry, Patton.” Roman all but threw Patton down on the bed, gathering up his clothes from their various spots on the floor. “I lost track of time. I thought we’d have enough time to watch a movie, but math has never been my strong suit. But never fear! A little bit of rushing and no one will be the wiser!” Roman ran into the bathroom, throwing on his garments before reemerging still brushing his hair.

 It took Patton a second to gain his bearings once he was set down on the bed and then he looked up at Roman in confusion. “Um, what are you late for?”

 “Biology.” Roman made a gagging motion. “But it’s required, so we do what we must.” Roman looked at himself in the mirror, giving a nod of approval before beginning to throw his book bag together. He tossed out the notebooks, deciding to put the only one necessary for this class in the smaller pocket so the main one would be clear. He grabbed a sweatshirt to soften the bottom and hopefully make this trip more pleasant for Patton.

 “Oh.” Patton watched for a moment as Roman got his bag together, a small thing of hope welling inside of him. “So, I guess I’ll just…stay here then?” As long as Roman didn’t trap him in anything, he would be free to leave. He was hoping that would be the case.

 “Of course you don’t have to stay here!” Roman assured him, not at all seeing Patton’s real concerns. “You get to come with me!” He finished with his bag preparations, coming over to the bed. He gathered up Patton, placing him in the middle of it. “There, perfect.”

 “W-Wait!” Patton stood up inside the bag, looking up at Roman through the opening. The perspective sent shivers down Patton’s spine. “I, what-what if someone sees me! No one can know I exist!” Patton said. It was both a very real fear and a way to get Roman to see that taking him would be a bad idea.

 “Calm down, Patton,” Roman said breezily, putting on the bag strap. “Your secret’s safe with me. Nothing’s going to happen to you, I swear it.” Roman checked to make sure the bag was secure before speed walking out of his apartment, locking the door behind him.

 Patton fell backwards onto his butt as Roman started to move, completely ignoring Patton. The borrower sighed, bringing his legs up to his chest and hugging them. At the very least, Roman said he wouldn’t show him to anyone. That counted for something, right?

 Roman rushed out to his car, putting his bag in the passenger seat. Despite his haste, Roman did his best to obey all traffic laws for fear of getting a ticket. Pulling into the parking lot of the Biology building a few minutes later, Roman dashed out of his car and actually had to stop himself once he realized he had forgotten his bag in the vehicle.

 “Ah, shoot.” Roman cursed, rushing back to grab it. Since he was already running late, Roman decided to just clutch it to his chest as he sprinted into the building.

 “Excuse me, pardon me,” Roman said, ducking around the occasional coffee zombie student roaming the halls. Luckily at this early hour, the halls were still fairly empty. Unfortunately, there were still a few stragglers. As Roman bolted around the corner, he crashed right into another student. The two collided, falling to the floor with a hard jolt.

 Patton, needless to say, had not been expecting the sudden collision as he felt Roman run into someone. The bag he was in was jostled to the point where it moved Patton on the inside. The borrower tried to get a grip on something, but it was no use as he fell out of the opening, falling hard onto the floor below. He groaned, rubbing his back as he tried to sit up.

 He looked up at the sight of not only Roman but another human on the ground with him which caused him to freeze.

 Virgil was so lost in thought, the sudden collision almost caused him to have a heart attack. Since he was in the front pocket, he felt the full force of it. Thankfully he only got a little squashed, maybe a slight bruise on his body. What wasn’t good, though, was that as he felt Logan start to go down and shift his body, Virgil started to slide towards the pocket’s opening.

 Virgil tried to hang on to the fabric around him, but his grip slipped a few seconds later and he tumbled out. He braced himself to be met with the hard floor, but was surprised to find his landing was fairly soft. Opening his eyes, he realized he had fallen into a bag. The  _other_  human’s bag. That was not good at all.

 Logan pushed himself up with a groan, having landed on the stranger. His eyes widened, feeling a significant emptiness in his chest pocket. Glancing around the area with a careful eye, Logan spotted a tiny figure sprawled on the floor a few feet away. Logan made a grab for them, shoving the tiny body into his pocket. Though he was worried, this was not the time and place to be worried about Virgil’s safety. That would have to wait until he returned to the apartment due to all this secret-keeping business.

 Patton gasped, but couldn’t get out of his frozen state fast enough as a giant hand grabbed him. A hand that definitely did  _not_  belong to Roman. He shut his eyes tight as he felt himself move through the air before he was deposited in something. He opened his eyes, only to see fabric surrounding him. It took him less than a second to realize he was in this new human’s pocket. Patton cowered. This was not good.

 “Watch where you’re going.” Logan spat angrily, standing up and straightening his tie.

 “Wha-  _me?_ ” Roman said indignantly, standing up. He knew he was at fault here, but he was still in a rush. And with the fact there was still a borrower in his bag, Roman was feeling defensive. He clutched his bag to his chest. “You should watch where _you’re_  going, Mr. head stuck in the clouds!”

 “Insufferable,” Logan muttered, but he didn’t have time to waste on this idiot. He turned on his heel, heading towards the door to get home as soon as possible.

 Roman watched the nerd leave, only now noticing that they were right outside his classroom. He reached into the bag, searching for the borrower’s form with his hand. Once he got hold, Roman rubbed the little guy’s shoulders comfortingly. “Sorry about that, Pat.” Roman apologized, before heading to class.

 Virgil was frozen as the human’s hand reached into the bag, searching around. He didn’t know what the human was looking for, but it was impossible to get away in such a small space. It took no time at all for the human’s hand to wrap around his small form.

 Virgil closed his eyes and waited to be discovered for the second time when the grip shifted and started to rub his shoulders. And then he heard the human’s voice.

 “Sorry about that, Pat.” Virgil’s eyes snapped open as the hand moved off of him and out of the bag. And slowly, Virgil started putting some pieces together.

 The human had been  _expecting_  a borrower in his bag. Not him, though, obviously.  _Pat. Patton._  It only made sense. Of course, it could be another borrower with a similar name, but Virgil wouldn’t count himself that lucky.

 Virgil looked around the bag but didn’t see anyone else, especially not Patton. Which only meant one of two things.

 Either Patton fell out of the bag and managed to get away…

 Or his best friend was now in Logan’s clutches.

 Virgil had a bad feeling it was the latter.


	10. ...You're Not Virgil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan realizes there's been a mix-up.

 Logan was tense the entire drive home. He could feel Virgil’s curled up form in his pocket, but fought the urge to check even in the safety of his car. Anyone could peer through the windows and that would only end in disaster. No, it was best to wait until he was safe in the privacy of his own apartment. Of course, this logic did not lessen Logan’s unease.

 Finally, Logan pulled up to the apartment building. He grabbed his bag and locked his car, heading up to the fourth floor. Putting his key into the lock, it took a few tries before Logan successfully felt the key turn. He entered the apartment, relief flooding through him.

 Now safe, Logan pulled the borrower out into the light.

 Patton tried his best to dodge the hand, but it was impossible to do in the pocket. He squirmed in the grasp as he was brought out in front of the human. Patton shook as their eyes met. He couldn’t believe he had been caught a  _second_  time. Two humans knowing about him was really bad. And unlike with Roman, he wasn’t sure of this human’s intentions.

 Logan blinked, for a moment so shocked that he merely stood there gaping like a fish.

 “I…you’re not Virgil.” Logan finally managed to form coherent words.

 Patton froze at the human’s words. “V-Virgil? You…You know Virgil?” Patton’s eyes suddenly started to glance around the apartment, trying to find a trace of his best friend. His heart dropped as he realized that meant that Virgil too, had been found and caught by a human. He hoped he was doing alright.

 “Yes, but I don’t know you.” Logan frowned, thrown off by this addition of a new subject. It was fascinating to find another, especially when comparing this one’s behaviors to Virgil. Though the two may be similar in size, already Logan could tell the two were very different. “Who are you? How do  _you_  know Virgil?”

 Patton took in a deep breath. “I’m Patton and Virgil is my best friend. So,  _where is he_? What have you done with him? Why do  _you_  know him?” Normally, Patton wouldn’t talk to a human like that, but he would do anything for Virgil.

 Logan leaned back, slightly surprised by this outburst. Perhaps Virgil and Patton weren’t so different after all.

 “I would appreciate if you kept your accusations to a minimum,” Logan said sternly, a bit peeved that after the whole fiasco of a meeting this morning, this was the thanks he received.

 Patton shook at the look he received but reminded himself this was about Virgil and pushed on. “Tell me where he is! I swear if you’ve hurt him…” He trailed off as he struggled against the grip again. He knew he wasn’t in a position to make any sort of threat to a human, but when it came to Virgil he would try his best to appear threatening.

 “I haven’t hurt him,” Logan assured the little guy, re-adjusting his grip to ensure the subject wouldn’t fall. “But…I’m not actually sure where he is, as of this particular moment.” Logan’s mind began to replay the incident in the hall, when Logan first noticed Virgil’s absence. “Wait a moment, how did you end up in my pocket anyway?”

 Patton let out a small sigh of relief, happy to hear that Virgil hadn’t been hurt and even happier to know that the human didn’t know where he was. That must mean Virgil escaped, right? Patton then blinked at the question. “W-Well…When Roman ran into you. I fell out of his bag and that’s when you picked me up.” Patton answered.

 “Roman…” Logan muttered. He wasn’t familiar with the name. Logan headed to his bedroom.

 “So…” Patton started as the human took him to what appeared to be his bedroom. “Now that that’s all settled, can you let me go now?” Patton asked, hoping this human will be easier to convince than Roman. Once he was back in the walls, he would be able to find Virgil and then the both of them could move to another building. Away from the two human’s who knew about them.

 Logan rolled his eyes. Not this again. He set Patton down on the desk. It would have been helpful to have the beaker again, but it was still in the kitchen and time was of the essence.

 “Stay.” Logan instructed, putting a hand palm up to gesture staying as well. With his other hand, he put down his bag and pulled out his laptop, beginning to get it booted up.

 Patton, while happy to be free of the grip, flinched when the human commanded him to stay. Somehow, this human seemed a lot more intimidating than Roman and so, Patton stayed. But that didn’t mean he was going to stay silent. The human hadn’t told him to be quiet after all.

 “W-What are you doing?”

 “Research,” Logan answered, typing in his password. The screen glinted off his glasses slightly. “Do you know Roman’s last name? Or any other identifying features, really. His major, his class schedule, things like that.”

 “Oh, uh, I-I’m not sure,” Patton said truthfully. “I mean, I know he was on his way to um…’biology’? this morning.” Patton said, shrugging. He was pretty sure that’s what Roman said.

 “Why?” Patton didn’t understand why the human needed to know those things about Roman. Was…Was he going to give him  _back_? Patton suddenly regretted telling him about Roman.

 “That much is obvious, it is the biology building.” Logan huffed. “And I need more information than that, I’m trying to track him down. Was it biology 101? 102? 204?”

 “I-I don’t know…He didn’t tell me.” Patton spoke, shaking. The human was annoyed, which wasn’t good.

 “Okay.” Logan let out a terse sigh, beginning to search through the classes currently happening at the building to try and narrow down the search himself. “Do you know anything else about him then? How did you end up in his possession?”

 Patton thought for a minute, hoping he could come up with something so the human wouldn’t be angry with him. “I know he likes Disney?” Roman had been pretty vocal about that. “And uh…he found me last night when I tried to watch TV…”

 “Hmm.” Logan could tell there was very little information that Patton could directly provide at this point, so he would just have to go after some logical hypotheses. Again. “Patton, where are you from?”

 Patton thought about not answering that particular question, but again, he did not want to annoy this human. And it seemed that this human was the type to get annoyed if he was not answered. “I’m from…um, the uh, fifth floor?” Patton said, not knowing how else to describe it.

 “The fifth floor?” Logan’s eyebrows furrowed at the vague explanation. Then realization dawned on him. He turned to look at Patton, momentarily forgoing the research. “Wait, are you referring to the fifth floor of this building?”

 Patton nodded, cowering a little as the human’s gaze turned to him.

 Logan turned back to his computer, closing out of the University page entirely. Instead, he pulled up the directory for his fellow apartments tenants, scowling as he recognized the face of the stranger from this morning on the page detailing the 5th-floor tenant.

 “I take it this is your Roman, then?” Logan asked, pointing at the picture on the screen.

 Patton nodded again. “Y-Yeah, that’s him.” Patton briefly wondered how the human had gotten Roman’s picture on that thing.

 “I cannot believe you were found by this idiot.” Logan rolled his eyes. His upstairs neighbor often kept Logan up with 1 am children’s movies and distracted Logan’s study sessions by blasting various B-rated musicals. It was the reason Logan was awake last night before he discovered Virgil. “No surprise he was rushing to class, though. He’s never struck me as the prepared or remotely competent type. Of course, I hadn’t met him personally before today, but one learns to despise their obnoxiously loud neighbors regardless of knowing them face to face.”

 “Uhhh….” Patton didn’t know how to respond to that.

 “Still, this makes things a lot more convenient.” Logan leaned back in his chair, observing both Patton and the screen.

 “It…does?” Patton questioned, wondering what the human meant. Was he going to…give him back to Roman?

 “Of course.” Logan nodded. “Roman is our most likely lead to Virgil’s whereabouts. If he lives within this building, it should be relatively simple to reclaim him.”

 Patton hummed, thinking back and realizing that it made sense that Roman would have him. He then blinked, before grinning. “Wait, you’re gonna help me get him back?” Maybe this human wasn’t so bad after all.

 Logan considered Patton’s question for a moment. “Yes.” Logan finally decided. It wasn’t an incorrect statement. He did want the two to be reunited under his care, after all.

 “Oh, thank you!” Patton exclaimed, practically bouncing up and down. “Honestly, I was starting to think I would never see him again…” Patton trailed off, frowning slightly.

 “I wouldn’t fret.” Logan pulled the laptop back towards himself, continuing his research. “I am certain Virgil will be in our company again soon.”


	11. Patton Needs Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey remember when Patton fell onto the hard school floor? Yeah, THAT HURT.

 The borrower grinned and moved to try and see what the human was doing, before a sudden pain went through his back and his smile fell. Patton groaned quietly and he reached behind to rub at his shoulder, he had almost forgotten about the sudden fall he had had against the hard school floor. He wondered why he hadn’t felt it sooner.

 The human immediately took notice, looking over at Patton with a frown. “Are you alright?”

 “Huh? Oh! Yeah, I’m fine.” Patton still found himself nervous at the human’s gaze. “Just had a bit of a tumble earlier.”

 Logan could have smacked himself in the forehead. “Oh, yes of course. Such a foolish oversight on my part.” He leaned closer to examine Patton’s injuries, turning his full attention once again away from the screen. “What feels injured? Where is your pain centralized?”

 Patton took a step back as the human leaned in closer. “Um…th-the pain seems to be coming from my shoulder the most…but like I said, I’m fine! Let’s just, uh, focus on getting Virgil back.” Patton tried to smile, but as felt another shot of pain, it turned to a grimace.

 “Nonsense.” Logan shook his head. “Roman is going to be in classes for most of the day. We can work on retrieving Virgil when he returns to the building. In the meantime, your well-being is my top concern.”

 Patton gave the human a small smile. “Well, thank you for the concern kiddo. But really, I’m fine. I’ve been through worse.” Indeed he had, as he thought back to the time he broke his arm…and then his other arm a few years later…

 “Your resilience in enduring past pain does not negate the fact that this present pain should be treated properly.” Logan bit his lip slightly, undecided. He wasn’t sure how injured Patton truly was, and therefore didn’t want to risk moving him from room to room. At the same time, the necessary tools to assist this situation resided in both the bathroom and the kitchen, and it would be unwise to leave Patton unattended. Especially given Virgil’s escapades before.

 Patton sighed, knowing the human was right. The pain in his shoulder was  _really_  starting to hurt and while usually he would have to ignore it because of lack of supplies, he was very much not lacking right now. And if the human was really willing to help him…then maybe Patton should take him up on that offer?

 “Alright, I guess you’re right…”

 “I know I’m right,” Logan said without a trace of humor. “How would you rate your pain? Do you think travel will aggravate your injuries?”

 “I’d say a seven?” Patton tried to move his shoulder, wincing slightly. “And uh…it depends on what kind of travel…” The borrower said, recalling that the human had held him in a fist earlier.

 “I probably wouldn’t do well with being…constricted…”

 “Alright, then I’ll do my best to be accommodating,” Logan said, getting an idea. He laid his hand on the desk, palm up.

 Patton blinked, taking a step back as he stared at the hand. He looked at the human, wondering if he was really asking what Patton thought he was asking.

 “Well?” Logan raised an eyebrow.

 Patton bit his lip nervously. Just the  _thought_  of willingly stepping into a human’s hand was nerve-racking. He didn’t even know the human’s name…

 “Um, before we do this…could I…uh, what’s your name?”

 Logan blinked, surprised by the request. “Logan. Logan Sanders.”

 “Logan,” Patton said, trying the name out. He smiled. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Logan!” Surprisingly. After Roman, Patton was sure other humans would be the same. But Logan seemed different and Patton was thankful for that.

 Still nervous though, he carefully inched closer to the hand. Steeling himself, he carefully stepped onto the hand. Moving so he was sat down in the center of the palm. He looked up at Logan, a shiver going down his spine as he realized how close he was to him now.

 Logan tensed. The feeling of a tiny figure traversing his palm was… _unpleasant_. Or at the very least, unexpected. Logan wished he was wearing another pair of gloves to help dilute the sensation further.

 Nonetheless, once Patton settled down it was bearable. He slowly raised his hand off the desk, holding Patton close to his chest for additional support.

 As the hand started to move, Patton steadied himself, trying to keep himself from falling over. He peered over the edge. He liked heights just fine, but there was just something different about it this time. Possibly because he was not the one in control.

 He turned away from the edge, focusing on where they were going instead.

 After a few moments, Logan placed his hand gently down on the kitchen counter and waited for Patton to depart.

 Patton quickly got off the hand, thankful to be back on solid ground. Though he will admit, the ride hadn’t been too bad. Better than being trapped in a fist at the very least.

 Logan got to work, pulling a rice warmer out of the drawer and setting it in the microwave for a few minutes. With that started he began scouring the cupboards for a spare dish towel.

 Patton watched as Logan walked around the kitchen, grabbing and looking for things. He jumped when something beeped and he looked up at the microwave. The borrower wondered why that thing had been put in there.

 He looked to Logan, who was still looking around. “I think the thing is done.”

 “Yes, thank you,” Logan said offhandedly, reaching in to grab the rice warmer with the dish towel. He wrapped it up, feeling it radiate a pleasant warmth beneath his fingertips. Logan set the bundle on the counter near Patton. “Try using this to apply heat where you feel the most sore. It should help alleviate the pain.”

 Patton looked at the thing, feeling the heat coming off of it from here. Slowly, he got closer to it, taking a seat at the base and carefully leaning his shoulder into it. He hissed as it first made contact, before slowly easing into it. Quickly realizing that it felt really good.

 “This is nice.” Patton sighed out with a smile.

 Logan pulled out his phone, setting a timer. “In about ten minutes we’ll want to switch and apply an ice pack instead. Alternating between the two should help your muscles relax and heal most optimally.”

 Patton hummed, too relaxed to really hear what Logan was saying. The warmth just felt so good on his sore back and shoulder.

 Logan looked up, observing how content Patton looked. It was such a stark contrast to Virgil’s constant objections. Perhaps that also meant Patton would be more willing to cooperate on other matters.

 “Patton,” Logan asked. “What exactly are you?”

 At the sudden question, Patton tensed, wincing when that caused another spike of pain. He looked at Logan warily, thinking back to Roman asking the same question plus many more.

 “Virgil didn’t tell you?” Patton asked, but realized that of course he wouldn’t have. Virgil would follow the borrower rules no matter what, simply because they were what kept them safe. Patton had already broken the rules and was now faced with deciding if he should do it again or not.

 “He…seemed inclined to avoid the topic,” Logan admitted as he thought back to the night before, his memory a bit hazy with sleep deprivation.

 “Hmm…” Patton had been expecting that answer. “That makes sense, Virgil isn’t one to break the rules.” He said what he had thought earlier.

 “Rules?” Logan’s curiosity piqued. “What rules?”

 It couldn’t hurt to explain the rules to him, right? “Well, our kind have these sort of…guidelines more like. Put in place to keep us safe. I’ve…admittedly already broken all of them while with Roman and am technically breaking several with you right now…But it’s things like, don’t talk to humans, don’t be seen, don’t give out any information. Things like that.” Patton explained.

 Logan subtly pressed record on his phone, not wanting to break this flow of information by stopping to get his notebook. “Is there an exact list of regulations? And who put them in place? Who enforces them?”

 “There isn’t really an exact list. It’s mostly just, don’t do anything that has to do with being seen by or talking to a human. As for who made them? Honestly? I don’t think anyone really did. It’s just…common sense for us.” Patton shrugged with his good shoulder.

 “I see.” Logan understood, after the disaster of a presentation, why such rules may be necessary. Perhaps Virgil had been correct to be nervous. “And how did you break the rules with Roman? What did you tell him?”

 Patton bit his lip, looking down shamefully. “I…told him everything. He said he would let me go if I did, but…”

 “…I suppose that didn’t happen?” Logan completed Patton’s thought.

 Patton simply shook his head.

 “I see.” Logan frowned. “That’s…unfortunate.” Logan felt a bit uneasy, knowing that while he had not promised Patton the same thing, Patton was likely hoping to be released from his own custody as well.

 “Although, perhaps Roman’s intentions were in the right place.” Logan gave what he hoped came off as a noncommittal shrug, looking back down at his phone instead of meeting Patton’s gaze. “And after all, would it really be so bad to stay with a human?”

 Patton found himself tensing again, thankfully his muscles seemed to be feeling better because no sharp pain followed. “Um…yes?” Patton was suddenly looking at Logan warily.

 “Not Roman, of course!” Logan was quick to amend, finding himself feeling almost nervous. “And certainly not just any human. I just meant, perhaps, with the  _right_  human it could even be beneficial. What with the resources and…such…” Logan was suddenly very invested in his phone screen, feeling the tips of his ears turning red.

 “M-Maybe…?” Patton said, still not liking how Logan was speaking. “I guess if it was…mutual? And, ya know, not against a borrowers will?”

 Logan paused, looking at Patton. “A borrower?” Logan repeated, the rest of his statement flying over Logan’s head with the addition of this new term.

 Patton blinked. “Oh, shoot.” Patton sighed. “Ah well, I guess it isn’t that big of a deal anymore.” Not with all the rules he had already broken. Besides, despite their…questioning conversation, Logan was still helping him get Virgil back. So, he deserved to know, right?

 “So that’s what you are, Patton?” Logan clarified. “What…why borrower? What does that mean?”

 “Because we borrow, silly.” Patton smiled, pushing their other conversation deep in his mind. “We borrow things from humans that we need to survive. But small things, things that you wouldn’t miss if they suddenly disappeared.”

 Logan nearly dropped his phone as his timer went off, signaling it was time to switch to the ice pack. Giving his phone an irritated grumble, he set it onto the counter while he reached into the freezer.

 “What kind of small things?” Logan asked, beginning to wrap up the ice pack in another towel.

 “Like paper clips, foil, crumbs of food left about, string, stuff like that.” Patton listed off.

 “How does a borrower go about deciding if an item will be missed?” Logan placed his hand on the rice warmer. “Sit forward, please.”

 Patton blinked, but did as told, missing the warmth as it was taken away. “Well, if it’s small and there are a lot of them, then that’s probably a safe bet. Or things that humans consider trash.”

 Logan removed the rice warmer, replacing it with the ice pack instead. He set the rice warmer to the side before resetting the timer on his phone, noticing it was still recording their conversation in another tab.

 “So how does an average borrower spend their day?” Logan asked. “Is all your time spent borrowing?”

 “Mostly. But I also like to sew and I hang out with Virgil a lot too!” Patton said, smiling. Though his smile fell as he leaned against the ice pack. He moved away from it quickly with a small yelp. “Th-That’s  _really_  cold!” He exclaimed.

 “Well, yes, it is an ice pack.” Logan pointed out. “Apologies for the cold, but the heat difference is essential.”

 Patton whined a bit but leaned back against the ice again. He shivered but stayed there. It wasn’t as comfortable as the heat pack though.

 “It won’t be long.” Logan glanced at the clock. “In ten minutes there will be another switch back to the rice warmer.” Of course, ten minutes after  _that_  would be more cold, but Logan decided to not remind the borrower of this fact.

 Patton sighed. He supposed he could deal with the cold for just ten minutes. “Alright.” He hoped it would go by fast.


	12. Roman, meet Virgil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman realizes he doesn't know the borrower in his bag.

Roman raced home, taking the stairs up to his apartment two at a time as his bag swung to the side. Biology seemed to last longer than ever before today, as Roman’s mind had been preoccupied for the entire two hours with a certain tiny friend. Finally Roman reached his own door, swinging it wide open as he waltzed inside.

 Despite knowing there was a borrower in his bag, the human was not being careful  _at all_. Virgil found himself sliding back and forth in the bag, becoming disoriented and even hitting the wall with his sore arm. Which sent a sharp pang up it. He groaned as the bag finally calmed down, allowing him to sit in the middle and calm himself.

 He was suddenly much more worried for Patton’s state if this was how the human had been treating him.

 Roman plopped down on the couch, setting the bag down on the cushion next to him. He turned to it, viewing it like a child coming down the stairs on Christmas. Not wanting to wait any longer, Roman reached his hand in and grabbed the borrower inside, pulling them up into the light.

 Virgil expected it, as soon as the bag had stopped moving and he felt it being set down, but he really wasn’t  _prepared_  for it. He tried to scoot away, but the hand grabbed him no problem. He struggled within the grip as he was taken out of the bag and suddenly face to face with  _another_  human.

 “Ah!” Roman let out a startled shriek at the unexpected tiny person. In his surprise, Roman’s grip loosened and the borrower fell back into the bag.

 Virgil yelled as he fell back into the bag, groaning as he landed on his arm. “What the heck?!” He yelled up before realizing what he did.

 Roman winced, peering into the bag to get a second look at the stranger. “My sincerest apologies. I just…. I wasn’t expecting you.” Roman gazed around the rest of the bag. “Wait just a moment, where is Patton?”

 Virgil hadn’t expected an apology. That was…weird, coming from a human. At the question, he shrugged. He knew Pat was probably with Logan…but what would this human do with that information?

 “And who are you?” Roman squinted suspiciously, not sure if the borrower was holding back information. Roman found himself now bursting with questions, pulling the borrower back out in a loose fist.

 “Ah, hey!” Virgil yelled at being picked up again, before closing his mouth tight. What was with him and suddenly yelling at a  _human_. Did he have a death wish? Either way, he found himself struggling within the grip.

 “What’s your name?” Roman turned the tiny person this way and that, inspecting him from all angles. “Where’d you come from? Why were you in my bag?”

 Virgil bit his tongue and didn’t even look at the human as he continued to struggle in the grip. If this was Logan, he’d be inclined to answer because he knew what Logan would do if he didn’t. But maybe…he could get away with not speaking?

 Probably not, but he was going to go as long as he could.

 “…Why are you so quiet?” Roman frowned, already missing Patton’s bubbly demeanor. What had happened to that little guy, anyhow? Roman felt a large mix of anxiety and fear brewing inside of him as he began to think where the borrower might be. After all, Roman was the one who had told Patton nothing was going to happen. If Patton was in trouble, it was Roman’s fault.

 Virgil simply glared at him, giving the human a look as if to say ‘ _why do you think?_ ’ His struggles continued, but he could already feel himself getting tired.

 “Oh, that’s right.” Roman thought back to when he and Patton had first met. It felt as though it was only yesterday. Mostly because, well, it was. “You’re  _afraid_ , aren’t you?” Roman looked down at the borrower with a brief look of pity.

 Virgil stopped at that, to send the human another glare. “Well duh!” He couldn’t help but say. His heart beat hard and fast inside his chest. Y _es, of course, he was scared. Who wouldn’t be when faced with a literal giant who has you in their grasp!_

 “It’s okay!” Roman chuckled slightly at the response he got, glad they seemed to be getting somewhere. “You don’t need to be afraid of me, lil’ guy! I’m not going to hurt you, I swear it.”

 “You already have!” This was what Virgil hated, the human’s saying one thing but doing another.

 “Wait, what?” Roman’s eyes widened, quickly moving his hands about so that the borrower sat in his cupped palms. “I’m so sorry, I truly didn’t think it was so far of a fall…”

 While Virgil was glad the fingers were no longer constricting him, being in the hand was still less than ideal. “Not just that, but your carelessness walking up the stairs and just letting the bag I was in swing whichever way it wanted! Honestly, I’m worried about the state you left Patton in!” Virgil glared at the human for a moment, before realizing what he had said, about Patton. His hand flew to his mouth.  _Crap._

 Now the human would know that he did, in fact, know about Patton.

 “Now hold on just a moment!” Roman transferred the borrower so that he was only cupped in one hand, using the other to point an accusing finger. “Granted, I may have been a bit careless then, but I am doing my best. I  _never_  laid a finger on Patton! I would never dream of it. Patton is my friend, all I want to do is protect him and keep him from getting hurt. And if you have any information about his whereabouts you’d better spit it out so we can find him before he gets himself into trouble.”

 If Patton was where Virgil thought he was, then he was already in some serious trouble. At the very least he was sure that Logan wouldn’t be revealing their kind. But that didn’t mean Logan was going to stop with his ‘research’ either. A sudden picture of Patton being held in a beaker broke his heart and made him worry about Patton even more.

 But this human didn’t seem much better, honestly,  _no_  human would be better. So despite his worry for Patton and his fear towards this human, he glared. “And what if I don’t?”

 “Well, I, ah…” Roman found himself momentarily at a loss for words, his finger dropping back down to his side. He hadn’t actually thought that far.

 “I suppose I’d just find him alone then, eventually.” Roman shrugged. “But I would certainly think very poorly of you. Especially if you truly think of yourself as a friend of Patton’s. How could you live with yourself knowing that Patton suffered longer simply because you didn’t trust someone who was  _trying_  to help?”

 Virgil froze, gritting his teeth. “Don’t.” Virgil stood up and glared at the human. “Patton is my  _best friend_. And the only reason I’m not telling you where I think he is, is because I’m  _protecting_  him.”

 Virgil wanted to get Patton away from Logan. He really did. But he didn’t want to trade Logan for this human either. Despite how intimidating Logan is and all his research, Virgil was never hurt. So while Patton might be scared and stuck in a beaker at least he would physically be fine.

 But with this human? Well, he had only been with him for a few minutes and he had already been hurt. This human was careless  _and_ could very well be lying to him. So if he had to, he would find a way to get Patton away from Logan  _himself_.

 “Protecting him from what?” Roman scoffed. Honestly, this borrower was so judgy.

 “From _you_!” Virgil exclaimed, almost as if the answer had been obvious. Which, to Virgil, it was. He didn’t let up on his glare.

 “ _I_  am not the enemy here!” Roman emphasized his point by bringing his free palm to his chest.

 Virgil scoffed. “You keep telling yourself that.” The borrower crossed his arms and looked away, even though the action sent a spike of panic in him.

 “I  _will_ , Mr. doubtful dormouse.” Roman huffed. He was determined to prove he was worthy of all borrower’s trust, even this stubborn one who still had refused to share his name.

 Virgil  _highly_  doubted that. “Can you put me down?” Virgil decided it was at least worth it to try to get the human to put him down.

 “…Oh, right.” Roman realized that he had been holding the little guy for a while. So, he set his palm down on the coffee table.

 Virgil was actually kind of surprised that the human had listened. He slid off the hand and onto the coffee table, looking up at the human before looking away. His arms were back to being crossed. He looked at the apartment around him, already trying to come up with a plan of escape.

 Roman slid off the couch, coming to rest on the floor in order to be more eye level with the table. He crossed his arms, placing them on the edge before resting his chin atop.

 Virgil looked back towards the human at the movement. Watching him warily. As the human settled and looked at him, Virgil couldn’t help but ask, “What?”

 “Now will you tell me about Patton?” Roman said, daring to be hopeful with a small smile.

 “No.”

 Roman deflated slightly, but he didn’t give up. “Come on, what’s it going to take for you to trust me?”

 “Leave and never come back.” Virgil deadpanned.

 “Stop being so dramatic.” Roman pouted. He tried to think back to the things he knew Patton enjoyed. “We could watch a movie. Are you a Disney fan, too?”

 “Disney?” Of course, he knew what movies were, but Disney was another thing. He had never heard of the word before. Was it…a type of movie?

 “Oh, you poor soul.” Roman reached across the table, grabbing the remote and turning the tv on. Netflix was still open from earlier that morning when he and Patton watched Aladdin. “ _That’s_  Disney,” Roman said, pointing to the screen.

 “Huh.” Virgil had to admit he was kind of intrigued. Not that he would let the human know that. “Looks boring.”

 Roman made a noise of offense. “Blasphemy!” He declared, already clicking play. “Disney is a series of beautiful masterpieces, this being one of them. Prepare to be enthralled, oh ye of little faith.”

 “Oh joy.” Virgil looked back at the TV as the human clicked play. Virgil, while actually interested in the movie, didn’t feel like watching it.

 He was then struck with a sudden realization though. If the human was distracted by the TV, he just might be able to escape! This was perfect! So, Virgil pretended to watch the movie but kept an eye on the human.

 Roman, meanwhile, was keeping an eye on the borrower. He had already watched Aladdin earlier in the day and was more focused on gauging his new friend’s reaction. Unfortunately, the little guy seemed to spend more time turning back to face him than actually watching the screen. Then he would quickly turn back, as if hoping Roman wouldn’t take notice. Roman frowned, wondering what was up. Was the borrower still just frightened? He did seem a lot jumpier than Patton. Although thinking back, Patton was pretty jumpy too.

 Virgil was getting frustrated because the human was paying more attention to  _him_  than the actual movie. Virgil mentally groaned. How was he supposed to escape  _now_?

 “Are you enjoying it?” Roman asked hopefully, wondering if this was just how all borrowers watched movies.

 Virgil had no clue what was even going on in the movie, spending all his focus on the human. “No.”

 Honestly, he wasn’t sure why he was seemingly trying to annoy the human, what with him being a  _human_  and all, but Virgil had to admit it was kind of fun. But he couldn’t ignore how dangerous it was either.

 Roman let out an irritated exhale so strong he could see it ruffle the borrower’s hair.

 “Well, you could have just  _said_  so!” Roman was disappointed that he had both not enjoyed the film and hadn’t felt brave enough to speak up about it.

 “Could I have?” Because Virgil had a feeling Roman would have tried to make him watch it regardless.

 “Of course!” Roman reached over to the remote again, clicking back to the menu. “There are plenty of other Disney films we can watch.”

 Virgil narrowed his eyes. “And what if I said I didn’t want to watch  _anything_.”

 “That’s  _fine_.” Roman insisted, shutting off the screen. “I was just suggesting something for us to do, and I knew that at least Patton enjoyed this so I thought you’d be the same. Nevertheless, it is clear you are two very,  _very_  different individuals.” Roman pasted his signature smile back on, determined to stay upbeat. “So! What  _do_ you want to do then?”

 Virgil thought about answering, but he decided to stay silent. Even though it didn’t go well for him with Logan.

 Roman glared down at the borrower. He took a deep breath, trying to keep his cool despite the fact that this emo nightmare seemed determined to test his patience.


	13. How To Train Your Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems Roman is starting to listen to Virgil as they eat and trade nicknames.

“Are you hungry?” Roman offered, remembering how Patton had enjoyed the pancakes earlier. “I could cook us up an early dinner. Your pick.”

Virgil was about to say no, or something along those lines, when his stomach went ahead and answered for him. He blushed and turned away, glaring down at his stomach for giving himself away.

“I’m gonna take that as a yes.” Roman said with a smirk, reaching out his hand towards the borrower.

Virgil looked back just in time to see the incoming hand. He took a step back and tried to use his arms to protect himself. “No!” He was reminded of his time with Logan.

“What’s wrong?” Roman froze, confused.

“How would you feel if a giant suddenly picked you up?” Virgil answered with a question. Trying to get the human to see his point of view.

“I’m not a  _giant_.” Roman felt his face turn slightly pink in embarrassment at being called out like that. “But fine, I suppose I see your point.” Roman set his hand on the table instead, palm up. “Would this be better, then?”

Virgil was once again surprised by the human listening. If this had been Logan, he would have been grabbed regardless of what he had said. But this human was at least trying something  _different_.

Virgil would rather not be on the hand at all, but he supposed this was better than being grabbed. “Yes.” He walked up to the hand, before hesitating greatly. He took in a deep breath and climbed onto the hand, quickly taking a seat in the center.

Roman lifted the borrower up, holding him to his chest and bringing his other hand up for added protection. He stood, making his way quickly to the kitchen.

While still not ideal, this was definitely a lot better. He was still not the one in control, but he felt a little more free. Which was more than Logan had done.

“There!” Roman said, putting his hand on the kitchen counter. “Now, what are you hungry for?”

Virgil slid off and thought over the question. He had tried once with Logan, who had quickly turned him down…it wouldn’t hurt to ask this human though, would it?

“Something…warm?” Virgil mumbled, shrugging.

“Something warm…” Roman rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “What a strangely specific and yet unhelpfully vague answer. I’ve got it!” Roman snapped his fingers, eyes lighting up with an idea. “Hamburgers it is. Unless you’re particularly opposed to the idea?”

“Uh, no. Hamburgers sounds…good.” He wasn’t quite sure what it actually was, but he was all for any kind of warm food. He actually couldn’t believe Roman was gonna make some for him.

“Excellent.” Roman pulled out a package of ground beef from the fridge, setting it on the counter without a borrower. He began pulling some meat out, packing it together to form a patty. Getting an idea, Roman then formed a few tiny patties that would be borrower-sized. He smiled, a bit amused at the size difference.

Once the patties were formed, Roman began to heat up a saucepan on the stove and plopped them in, standing guard with a spatula ready to flip.

Virgil thought about trying to escape, but decided not to. The human was literally two feet away from him and while focused on cooking, one glance in his direction and he would be caught. So, Virgil stayed put, instead trying to look into the pan to see how the human was cooking the food.

Roman flipped the hamburgers with ease, only showing off slightly due to his audience. It was difficult to make sure the tiny hamburgers didn’t burn, but out of the little batch he was sure at least two survived. Roman set them all on a plate, digging out some buns from the cupboard. With his bare hands he ripped off a bit of a bun, creating tiny pieces to serve as a miniature bun.

“Here you are.” Roman presented the borrower-sized hamburgers to his guest on a second plate. They looked a bit messy, but Roman reminded himself that it was his first attempt and would surely suffice. After all, it met the only true requirement of being ‘something warm’. “Do you want any ketchup? Cheese?”

Virgil looked at the hamburgers, before looking back up at the human. “Uh…sure?” More food was more food.

Roman took out the block of cheese from the fridge, cutting a large slice for himself and a second, very thin slice. He placed a tiny bit of the thin slice onto the burger before pulling out the ketchup and squirting the world’s tiniest dollop on top.

“Anything else?” Roman asked, assembling the rest of his own burger.

“N-No, I think that’s good.” Virgil took the burger, looking it over in his hands before taking a bite. Hie eyes widened and the warmth _inside_ his mouth and at the flavor. This was by far better than anything he had ever had. “This is amazing.” He said in awe as he swallowed his first bite. 

“Good!” Roman was glad his hard work paid off, and for once the little guy seemed to be enjoying himself. He took a bite of his own burger as well.

Virgil took another bite, thinking something over. After some hesitation, he cleared his throat. “Thanks.” He said, without looking up at the human. He quickly took another bite.

Roman was surprised by the gratitude, especially given the borrower’s dreary disposition thus far. “You’re welcome.” He replied sincerely, feeling as though they were truly beginning to connect.

To make up for giving his gratitude, Virgil looked up at the human. “You know, I never did get your name.”

“Oh, shoot.” Roman mentally cursed himself, realizing this was the second time he had forgotten to give a borrower his name. “How rude of me. My apologies, my name is Roman, and it is lovely to make your acquaintance.”

Virgil smirked. “That’s cool.” He then took another bite of his burger.

Roman paused, waiting for a response that slowly he realized wasn’t coming. “You know, when someone introduces themselves, it’s customary to introduce yourself as well.”

“That’s cool.”

“Oh, come on.” Roman frowned. Why did this one have to be so irritatingly stubborn? “Why won’t you just tell me your name?”

“Because it’s fun annoying you.” Virgil admitted, despite his heart pounding fast. There was just something about Roman that made Virgil want to talk back. Despite the fact that he was a human. Roman just brought out his true nature, it seemed like.

Virgil hoped he wouldn’t pay for it.

Roman stared down the borrower challengingly for a few moments.

“Fine.” Roman sighed dramatically, pretending to be annoyed. “I suppose I’ll just have to stick to nicknames, my little pixie.” Roman smirked.

Virgil lost his smirk for a moment, before he had it again. “Fine, two can play at that game beanstalk.”

Roman raised his eyebrow, surprised by this not unwelcome banter. “Have it your way, Jack the Nimble.”

Virgil raised an eyebrow at that, confused on what it meant. “I will, prince gigantor.”

“Oooh, you’ll have to do better than that, Tiny Tim.” Roman teased. “Maybe you could _borrow_  some better wordplay on your next little expedition.”

Virgil was getting his next nickname ready, when he froze at Roman’s last statement. “W-What?” He asked, slowly growing panicked. He couldn’t have meant it how Virgil thought he meant it…right?

“Tiny Tim?” Roman repeated, unsure what the issue was. “From a Christmas Carol?”

“No, no, after that!” Virgil should have just left it, but he needed to know what Roman knew.

“It was just a little joke.” Roman explained. “You know, because you’re a borrower?”

Virgil backed up a few steps in shock, panic clear on his face. “H-How do you know that? How-” Virgil cut himself off when he realized. _Patton_. Patton must have told Roman. But why?

“Ooh, that’s right.” Roman let out a slight hiss of breath through clenched teeth. “I forgot there’s all those rules, isn’t there?”

 _He knew about the rules as well?! How much did Patton tell him?!_  “Y-Yes, there is. Rules you shouldn’t even know  _exist_.” This was  _bad_.

“Sorry.” Roman winced. “But I promise, my lips are sealed!” Roman made a motion as though he was zipping his lips closed. “You don’t have to worry about me giving any borrower secrets away.”

Virgil winced every time Roman said the word borrower. It just didn’t seem right on the human’s lips. “Why would Patton even tell you all of that…?” He mumbled, but it was loud enough for Roman to hear.

“…because we’re friends.” Roman answered, but deep down he knew there was more to it than that. He just didn’t want to acknowledge how he might’ve made Patton feel in the beginning.

“Somehow, I highly doubt that.” Roman must have done something, that had to be it. “You forced it out of him, didn’t you.” Virgil said through grit teeth. He continued to put distance between himself and the human.

“I…I didn’t mean to!” Roman insisted. “I was  _curious_. And who wouldn’t be? A 4 inch tall man shows up on my coffee table and you think I’m not going to ask questions? But I swear, I didn’t hurt Patton. I told you, I would never! I just might have.. _.accidentally_ …scared him, a little.”

“‘Accidentally’ huh? Yeah, right.” Virgil looked down, only to realize he was shaking. But with fear or anger, he had no idea. Most likely both. “I knew you were like all those other humans.”

“No, no I’m not!” Roman got down on his knees, getting to eye level with the counter. He put his hands up on the edge, cupping it and looking much like a puppy dog begging. “I really, truly didn’t intend to scare Patton. Just like I didn’t intend to scare you. And didn’t I get better here? I thought we were getting along just now, you and I. Don’t you think I did the same for Patton? Well, at least, I tried. It’s my first time dealing with borrowers, but I’m trying to do it right, honest.”

Virgil  _really_  didn’t want to believe Roman, but…even to Virgil, Roman sounded somewhat sincere. Though Virgil didn’t believe for one second that he had the full story…he had to admit, he couldn’t picture Logan doing anything like this. Apologizing, admitting he was wrong, claiming to try and do better…

Virgil sighed, not believing he was about to do this. “…Virgil.” He spoke, not looking at Roman.

“…I’m sorry?” Roman frowned, not understanding. Was he still in trouble, or…?

“Virgil. It’s…my name.” Virgil said again, explaining himself. “Though I hate to admit it…you seem pretty sincere. So I guess you’ve earned my name or whatever.” Virgil said, still not looking at Roman.

Roman put his hands to his mouth slowly, eyes widening in realization. Despite the fact that he now knew many sacred borrower secrets, this name felt like the most important knowledge Roman had ever been trusted with. He could feel his heart bubbling with glee due to the sheer fact that his new friend- _Virgil-_  had actually trusted him enough for this.

“Virgil.” Roman tried it out loud for himself, giving Virgil as small smile. “Virgil, it as honor to officially, _finally_ meet you.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” At least he had given away his name willingly to Roman, unlike with Logan who had forced his name out of him. “I just really hope you _are_  telling the truth…”

“I  _am_!” Roman all but whined. He stood up with a sigh, looking over at the dirty dishes before beginning to transfer them to the sink. Hopefully over time Virgil would see that Roman was indeed telling the truth.


	14. ...Logan? What'cha got there, buddy?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Logan brings Patton to class, he begins to think that perhaps it would have been best if Patton stayed at the apartment.

Patton groaned as he was once again leaning on a bag of ice. He hated the changing between both of them. Even the hot pack was starting to not be comfortable anymore. “How much more of this do I have to do?” He asked Logan.

 “Well, if you’re no longer feeling a change, the treatment may have run its course and we may stop for the evening.” Logan glanced at his phone. “In fact, that would be wise, as it is almost time for me to head to class.”

 Relief flooded Patton’s features before he frowned. “Wait, class?”

 “Anatomy and Physiology,” Logan said off-handedly, reaching for Patton.

 Patton squeaked as he saw the hand approach, trying to scoot away. “W-Wait!”

 Logan paused, looking at the borrower. “Are your injuries flaring up again?” Logan had thought that the treatment was finished and that Patton would once again be well enough for transportation.

 “Well-Well no, but, can’t I stay here? Or at the very least, could you not…grab me?” Patton asked, squirming at the thought of being picked up like that again.

 “Would that help alleviate your stress levels?” Logan asked.

 Patton wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but he nodded anyway.

 “Very well.” Logan set his palm down next to Patton instead.

 Patton once again sighed in relief and smiled, getting into the hand like before. But thankfully without an injured shoulder this time.

 Logan moved Patton all of four feet, bringing his hand to rest awkwardly at the bottom of the large beaker still sitting on the counter.

 Patton blinked, not getting off of the hand. “W-What are you doing?” He asked.

 “I thought you wanted to stay here.” Logan reminded him.

 “I-I mean, yeah, but I uh…would rather not be trapped, ya know?” Patton said, looking up at Logan with a sudden worry.

 “Well, considering I still lack more suitable accommodations, I figured this was the best course of action,” Logan explained. “It should still allow adequate circulation and shelter for the time being.”

 “Well, uh, you know what else is good shelter and…the other thing? This nifty apartment that I’m already inside of.” Patton said, motioning all around him.

 “Well, it’s actually a bit drafty in here.” Logan glanced around at the walls. “But more importantly, it would be illogical to leave you to your own devices while I was away. Especially given your injured state. It would certainly be unfortunate if you got yourself into trouble and got even more grievous injuries.”

 “I wouldn’t get into trouble…” Patton mumbled. But at least Logan’s reasoning for trying to get him in this glass thing was for safety. “How about I just go with you then? That way you don’t have to be so worried about me and you can focus on class better!”

 Logan pondered this idea. The only danger that Virgil had faced while in the pocket had been Roman, and an incident like that could be prevented with better vigilance on Logan’s part. If it truly made the borrower more comfortable, perhaps it would be alright to bring Patton along. After all, he certainly preferred Patton’s complacent attitude to Virgil’s accusatory one any day of the week.

 “Very well then.” Logan lifted his hand out of the glass container, instead lifting it so that it was next to the entrance of his pocket. “Pocket it is.” With his other hand he gently grabbed Patton’s sides, lifting him up and then into the pocket.

 Patton squirmed a bit when he felt his sides being pinched and him being lifted, but stopped as he was placed in the pocket. He sat up slightly but was mostly leaning against the fabric. He hadn’t been able to really focus on the pocket earlier, having been too scared. But without fear playing a part, he had to admit it wasn’t bad. In fact, “wow, it’s comfy in here!”

 Logan gave a small chuckle, not expecting that response. Once again, so different from the response he had received from Virgil. He gathered up his bag, careful to place the strap so that it wasn’t overlaying Patton. Logan walked through the rooms of his apartment, double checking that he had everything necessary for class.

 “Alright, I’m heading out.” Logan informed Patton, heading to the door.

 “Okay!” He settled down, noticing for the first time how a steady beat played on his right. It took Patton a second to realize it was Logan’s heartbeat. Huh, weird.

 Logan sent a brief glance to the stairwell going up, wondering if perhaps Roman was home yet. Unfortunately, there was no time to check. Logan would just have to investigate after class. Logan instead headed out to his car, taking the short trip back to the University. He walked into the Biology building, heading for the second floor.

 “Good afternoon, Logan.” Dr. Dee’s voice stopped Logan in his tracks. “Back again, I see.” Heart pounding, Logan turned to face him, trying not to think about how inconspicuous Patton may look on the outline of his chest.

 Patton blinked at the shift in heartbeat, how it started to go faster. The borrower frowned, that was weird. Was something wrong?

 “Ah, yes.” Logan nodded. “I’m just on my way to anatomy, sir.”

 “I always enjoyed my anatomy courses.” Dee took a sip of his coffee mug, despite the fact it was well into the afternoon. “Do they have you dissecting cats yet?”

 “No, not for another month.” Logan explained. “We’re still in the exposition phase of the course.”

 “That’s a shame.” The doctor made a  _tut-tut_  sound with his tongue. “Science is no fun until you get some hands-on experience.”

 “Absolutely, sir.” Logan readily agreed, barely paying attention.

 “But!” Dee clapped Logan on the shoulder, giving him a cheshire cat grin. “I’m sure you’ll get your hands dirty soon, eh? Chin up, there’s plenty of science to go around for those who keep our heads.”

 “Yes, sir.” Logan ducked out from underneath Dee’s grasp. “In that case, I best be going, sir.”

 “Keep a watch out for the fairy folk!” The professor called after him before laughing at his own joke. Logan hurried his pace along, not looking back.

 Patton couldn’t help but listen in to the conversation, only to find his eyes going wide and his body start to shake. Science? Fairy folk?  _Dissection_? Wh-Why were they talking about that stuff? It couldn’t be true that Logan was…was a  _scientist_. Right?

 Maybe he had misunderstood the conversation. Or had even misheard it! Yeah…

 Logan greeted his anatomy professor, taking his seat at the front of the class. Throughout the period he took his extensive notes as per usual, but his heart wasn’t in it. His second encounter with the Dean had him frazzled, concerned for Patton’s wellbeing as long as they were in this building. Unfortunately, this was going to be a common occurrence, as Logan had many classes held here. He was a biology student, after all.

 Logan sighed, laying his head in his hand and allowing his eyes to wander around the room as he became lost in his thoughts. Why couldn’t Patton have stayed in the apartment? Granted, the beaker was a bit cramped, but it could do in a pinch. Unfortunately, even if Patton had agreed to it Logan still needed another solution. Once he had Virgil back, the beaker wasn’t big enough for both to reside, and Logan would be forced to bring one along to class regardless. If only Logan had better accommodations. Something that would be comfortable enough for both borrowers without Logan having to worry about them in class…

 Logan’s eyes locked on a solution sitting at the back of the room. Once the idea was planted in his head, he couldn’t shake it. Sure, it was a bit demeaning, but it would certainly get the job done. It was just what Logan needed. He waited until after class, when most of the students had filed out, to approach his teacher about it.

 “Excuse me, professor?” Logan spoke up. “Do you know if that cage is part of the regular equipment circulation?”

 Patton’s thoughts had been preoccupied the entire class period. His mind going through the conversation he overheard over and over and trying to work around it in a way that would mean Logan  _wasn’t_  a scientist. Unfortunately, it hadn’t seemed to be working.

 And then, he heard Logan speak again and his eyes widened. W-Why was Logan asking about a cage?

 “What, that old thing?” The professor scoffed. “I haven’t seen anybody touch it since I’ve been here. I’m sure you could just take it.”

 “That’s not what I asked…!” Logan trailed off, watching the professor leave the room to head to another class. He sighed, looking back at the cage. Logan approached it. This would be tricky, considering he still had to be cautious of Patton in his pocket. Thankfully the cage proved to be lighter than it looked, and Logan was able to hold it to the side of his body with moderate success. He began to hobble out into the hall and down the stairs, back towards his car.

 “Logan?” Logan sighed, once again stopped by the Dean’s voice. Didn’t he have important business to attend to? It usually took Logan a few days to find a time to meet with him, and yet now it seemed Dr. Dee had a few hours to spend just drinking coffee and spiking Logan’s anxiety. “Where are you going with that cage?”

 “I apologize.” Logan winced. “I was informed that this was up for the taking-”

 “Oh, it is.” Dr. Dee folded his arms, walking over. “Well, it might be. If you have a good reason for taking it. See, I don’t like watching things go to waste.”

 “Agreed.” Logan found he actually agreed with the doctor, surprisingly. “Don’t worry, I’ll be putting it to good use.”

 “Doing what, exactly?” Dr. Dee sidestepped to block Logan’s path. Logan gulped.

 “…All scientists are entitled to their secrets?” Logan recited, quoting the response Dr. Dee had famously written when answering inquiries about the origins of his master thesis.

 “Using my own words against me.” Dr. Dee’s eyes narrowed, but he had a small grin of amusement. “Well played, Logan Sanders.” Logan nodded, continuing on his way once the professor stepped aside.

 “I just hope you remember there are no secrets kept in my master’s program.” Dr. Dee’s tone was a bit more sinister. Logan had no response; how could he? Was he being threatened? Was this just another aspect of the Dean’s unpredictable personality?

 Instead, Logan pretended as though he had not caught this last line, briskly walking the rest of the way to his car. He placed the cage in the backseat before revving up the engine, breathing a small sigh of relief.


	15. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton is understandably concerned about the cage.

Patton was shaking even harder now, after the last conversation Logan had had with what sounded like the same person. There was no denying that Logan was at least planning on becoming a scientist. And was _planning_  on using the cage…But Patton was still gonna give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he had to use the cage for something else?

Once he realized they were in the car, alone, he spoke. “L-Logan?” He asked, stuttering.

“Yes, Patton?” Logan asked, hearing the small voice from his pocket. He kept his eyes on the road, navigating them home.

“Uh…What-What are you going to do with that, um…cage you got?” Patton asked, unable to keep the worry and fear out of his voice. The two emotions making him stutter.

Logan thought back to Patton’s fears about both Roman and even the beaker earlier. How he still yearned for freedom. Perhaps it would be best to calm Patton for now and win him over to the idea.

“I was planning on refurbishing it.” Logan supposed it wasn’t exactly an incorrect explanation.

“R-Refurbishing?” Patton asked, not knowing what it meant.

“It means to renovate or redecorate.” Logan explained. “In this case, I also used it to imply recycling for a new purpose.”

“Oh.” Patton sighed with relief, his smile coming back. So turns out he _was_ wrong. Good, though now he felt a bit bad about accusing Logan like that, even if it was just in his head. “Okay!”

“Now be quiet, Patton.” Logan instructed gently, pulling into his parking space.” I’m going up to the apartment now.” He grabbed the cage from the backseat, heading up the stairs.

Patton was about to answer, but Logan was already on the move, so he kept quiet. He was so glad that he turned out to be wrong though.

Logan opened the apartment door with his free hand, closing it behind him and heading to the bathroom. He set the cage down in the tub, then plucked Patton out of his pocket and set him on the counter.

As soon as Patton gained his bearings, he looked around bathroom. Noticing the cage was in the tub. Confused, he turned to Logan. “What are you doing?” He asked, motioning towards the cage.

“I need to wash this off.” Logan explained, turning on the tap and getting to work. “It’s impossible to say how long this has been abandoned, but by the layer of dust I would guess at least several years.”

“Ew.” Patton said, scrunching up his face a little. But he understood, the walls, especially if not previously inhabited by another borrower, came dusty and full of-Patton shuddered-cobwebs. Thankfully, these walls were fairly clean when Patton came along.

Logan scrubbed at the debris, watching it wash down the drain. He rinsed it again and again until the water ran clear. Satisfied, Logan stood up and put his palm next to Patton.

Patton was still a bit hesitant, but did step into the palm offered to him. He took a seat in the middle and waited for Logan to move.

Logan moved his hand up to his chest, tilting his palm and dropping Patton into his chest pocket.

Patton yelped as he was dropped into the pocket unexpectedly. He moved and did his best to stand on the uneven ground before jumping and grabbing the lip of the pocket. He hoisted himself up so he could see the outside. “Um…could you maybe, uh, warn me next time you…do that?” Patton stuttered out.

Logan glanced down at his pocket briefly. “I suppose.” Logan said, gathering up a towel. “Although it seemed rather obvious, as I need both my hands available to carry this monstrosity.” He dried off the bars of the cage before picking it up and bringing it to his room.

“I guess I wasn’t thinking about that…” Patton admitted, ducking down a little. It did seem obvious now that Logan had pointed it out.

“I’m not surprised.” Logan sighed. That, at least, was a trait he and Virgil shared.

Pouting, Patton let himself slip back into the pocket, ignoring Logan’s last words. But honestly, Patton wasn’t surprised either…

Logan set the cage down on his desk where the beaker had been earlier. Then he picked Patton out of his pocket, opening the cage door and setting him inside.

Patton blinked, thrown off for a moment as he realized he was now _in_  the cage. His head whipped towards the door, but saw that it was still wide open. With a sigh of relief, Patton figured that Logan thought Patton would want to explore a little. Which he did.

He looked at the cage, seeing it in a different way for the first time. As a borrower, he only ever saw cages like this as a means to trap him. But now, with Logan refurbishing it, Patton could just picture all the things it could be.

“It’s so neat that you’re taking this old thing and turning it into something new.” Patton said, before gasping. “You’re like a borrower!”

“I am?” Logan raised an eyebrow at that comment, taking a seat at his desk.

“Yeah! We make stuff out of things we find all the time! Paperclips into hooks, thimbles into cups or chairs…like what you’re doing with this!” Patton motioned to the cage around him. “By the way, what are you going to turn it into?” Patton asked, excited to know.

“Well, um…” Logan shifted a bit, not sure how Patton would react to an honest answer. “It’s a bit hard to explain, but I suppose one could equate it to a mix between a terrarium and a dollhouse.”

Patton tilted his head. “You have dolls?”

“Doll-like, I suppose.” Logan said, appraising Patton from a distance and seeing a bit of a resemblance.

“Huh, cool!” Logan didn’t seem like the type to have ‘doll-like’ things, but Patton wasn’t one to judge. He looked around a bit more before hopping out of the cage. He was then struck with a sudden idea.

“Hey! Maybe I can help!”

“That would actually be much appreciated.” Logan said with a small nod. He had hoped for a bit of Patton’s assistance. He glanced at the empty cage, now appearing much like a blank canvas. This was a bit worrying, as Logan had never been the creative type.

“Yay!” Patton was practically bouncing with excitement, before he suddenly remembered something-or rather,  _someone_.

“Oh, but maybe we should focus on getting Virgil back first? Besides, he would probably love to help too!”

“It’s possible Roman isn’t finished with classes.” Logan explained. “I myself still have a lab later this evening.” Logan almost yawned at the mere thought of it, remembering how he hadn’t slept at all the previous night. “It would be best if we waited until the evening to make any further investigations to avoid wasting time.”

“Oh…alright.” Patton didn’t like waiting, especially when it came to Virgil and his safety, but he supposed Logan was right. Patton did his best to put on a smile that was only a little forced.

“Well, I guess we can go ahead and get started on this! Just to pass the time.”

“Yes.” Logan paused, looking at the cage again. “Where should we start?”


	16. The Human Hot Seat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil puts Roman through a series of questions to grill the human on his previous behaviors.

“So, Virgil,” Roman addressed the borrower by name now that he could, “what should we do next?”

“You could let me go.” Virgil deadpanned, having enough of this human.

“Wait, what? Why all this hostility again?” Roman flinched as if he had been hit, a bit wounded by Virgil’s remark.

Virgil blinked, surprised Roman actually seemed hurt by his statement. Virgil sighed. “Look. No offense…well, a little offense, but I haven’t had the best of times with humans.” Virgil shuddered involuntarily as his mind immediately wandered to Logan. “And despite how sincere you sound, there is no proof until I actually find and see Patton for myself.”

“Well then why don’t you let me help you find him?” Roman said exasperatedly, desperate to both find Patton and defend his own honor. “I can help you! And then it can be proven, once and for all, that I am indeed a friend to all borrowers.”

Virgil winced internally at Roman using the word borrower again. He then narrowed his eyes. “A friend to all borrowers, huh. Fine, I’m going to go through some questions and I want you to answer honestly. Then we’ll see how much of a ‘friend’ you are.”

“By all means.” Roman held his arms out wide. “I’m an open book, my miniature amigo.”

Virgil _just_  kept back a smirk. “What was the first thing you did after seeing Patton?”

“Thought I was dreaming.” Roman answered immediately.

Virgil huffed. “Alright, let me rephrase that. What was the first  _action_ you took after seeing Patton?”

Roman let his arms fall back to his sides, deflating slightly. “I…picked him up.” Roman answered less quickly.

“Hmm…and what was Pat’s reaction to that?” Virgil asked, raising an eyebrow as he crossed his arms.

“Well, scared.” Roman bit his lip slightly. “But come on, so were you! I’m sure every borrower I meet is gonna start out scared.”

“Well yeah, but you’d be scared too if you were suddenly face to face with a being a hundred times your own height, who then proceeds to  _grab_  you.” Virgil sighed. “But fine, let’s say that’s a fair point. Did you put him down once you realized he was scared?”

“Uh…” Roman was beginning to regret agreeing to these questions. It was making him realize that perhaps he hadn’t been…the best, with Patton. But then again, shouldn’t his change and improvement from then count for _something_? Why should he be judged for the things he did if he wasn’t going to do them again?

“Well, first I tried to comfort him!” Roman pointed out. “Friendly words of affirmation and whatnot.”

“Comfort him?” Virgil’s mind suddenly went to when he first fell in the bag, when Roman still thought he was Patton and tried to ‘comfort’ him after the collision. “Oh, you mean invading his personal space with fingers as tall as he is? Without his consent? Hmm, yes, I can see how that would be comforting.” Virgil stated sarcastically, rolling his eyes and glaring at Roman.

“Well I didn’t know!” Roman felt his ears turn pink. “I was doing my best. I hadn’t held a borrower before!”

“Not a good excuse, but fine, next question.” Virgil thought for a moment. “Did you or did you not _ignore_  Patton’s fear in order to satisfy your own curiosity?”

“…oh, would you look at the time!” Roman dodged the question, glancing at the clock instead a bit theatrically.

Virgil blinked in sudden confusion, before glaring. “Hey, don’t ignore the question!” Virgil really thought he was getting somewhere.

Roman was truly going to answer, but then he processed what time the clock actually said.

“Shoot, I’m going to be late again!” Roman dashed out of the room to grab his coat.

“Wha-” Virgil started, but Roman was already gone. Though he could hear the human rummaging around in the next room. Was Roman talking about class…? Oh gosh, was Roman gonna take  _him_  to class with him? Not _again_.

“I’m so sorry, Virgil.” Roman apologized, ducking back into the kitchen with only one arm in a sleeve and his bag slung over his shoulder. He hurried to put his other arm in. “I’ve really got to get to class, but I swear I’m not just running off to dodge your questions. I’ll answer them all when I get back, alright?”

“Uh, o-okay?” Virgil said, still confused and scared of what was Roman was going to do with him.

“Great.” Roman breathed a small sigh of relief when it didn’t seem as though Virgil was angry with him. He gave Virgil one last wave and a smile. “I’ll be back shortly!” Then, Roman rushed out of his apartment, already brainstorming excuses to tell his professor.

Virgil stood there, dumbstruck for several moments. Did Roman really just…leave him alone. Without trapping him or anything?

Either Roman was learning or he was just a giant idiot.

Virgil was gonna go with the latter.

With a large grin, Virgil wasted no time in climbing down towards the floor, eyes going towards the door every few seconds, waiting for Roman to burst back in and trap Virgil.

But he never did.

Virgil found his exit with ease and climbed in. He took a few steps before stopping and finally relaxing. He was back in the walls. Where he belonged. Away from the humans in a place no one could catch him. He finally felt  _safe_  again.

But then Virgil remembered Patton and his body tensed again. His best friend was still out there, with  _Logan_  of all humans. Virgil couldn’t celebrate yet, not until Patton was also free. It was time to get Patton back.

Virgil traveled the route he knew would take him to Logan’s place. Honestly, he would rather never come here again, but he had to. For Patton.

He stopped at one of his exits, taking a deep breath before peaking out. It looked like he was on Logan’s dresser in his room. His eyes immediately caught sight of the human and then at the tiny figure on his desk. Virgil bit back a gasp and carefully slipped out of the wall to hide behind a bag left on the dresser. He watched carefully, his eyes going wide as he saw Patton standing in a  _cage_.

Virgil’s heart rate sped up, but then he realized that Logan hadn’t locked Patton inside. In fact, Patton came right out of it and Logan did nothing.

…What game was Logan playing at?


	17. Now I Have Two Borrowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Us: Hey here's a borrower  
> Logan: Oh sweet, now I have two borrowers
> 
> Or...
> 
> The analogical reunion goes about as well as you'd imagine.

“And I was thinking a nice shade of blue for the padding inside-no! Blue and purple patched padding! It’s perfect!” Patton exclaimed, turning to Logan. “Purple is Virgil’s favorite color.” He explained.

“Alright.” Logan jotted this down in his notebook, which had quickly become an accumulation of materials he needed to acquire and facts about both borrowers. It seemed Patton wasn’t one to keep his mouth shut, but Logan certainly didn’t mind. “Are we missing anything, then?”

Patton thought for a moment, hopping back into the cage for a moment. “Hmm…Oh! Maybe some privacy curtains. And they can match the padding!”

Virgil stood there confused as he took in the conversation that was taking place before him. Was Patton… _really_  helping design his own  _prison_.

No, no, Logan had to be tricking him. Virgil glared at the back of Logan’s head.

After all the experience Logan had gathered between dealing with Virgil and Patton, Logan could recognize that familiar sensation of being watched.

“And… what should the curtains be made of?” Logan asked, but his mind was elsewhere. He glanced around the room out of the corner of his eye.

“Well, I was actually thinking Virgil and I could make them! I have some fabric back at my place that would work perfectly!” Patton continued, unaware of what was going on above him.

It was a good thing Virgil was paying attention, because he caught the sudden shift in Logan. But…there was no way Logan knew he was there, right? Virgil shifted closer to the bag on instinct.

Catching movement, Logan immediately got up from his chair to go investigate.

Patton stopped, noticing Logan getting up. “What are you doing?”

Virgil, mind going into a panic, practically dived behind the bag. He looked towards his exit, debating if he should leave or not. He could always come back for Patton later, come up with a better plan even. But the guilt at leaving caused him to pause.

Of course, as soon as Virgil moved Logan spotted him. He reached around the bag, quickly grabbing up Virgil in a fist. Logan raised an eyebrow, surprised that it was Virgil and not some third borrower. After all, wasn’t Virgil supposed to be in Roman’s custody?

Logan turned around, coming back to the desk with a borrower in hand.

Virgil gasped in surprise as he was suddenly grabbed in an unfortunately familiar way. As he was raised to Logan’s eyes, Virgil couldn’t do much but panic. _No, no, no, no! Not again!_  This was not how this was supposed to go.

Patton watched Logan curiously, wondering what on earth the human was doing, when he finally turned back around. Patton’s eyes snapped to what was in Logan’s hand and he grinned. “Virgil! You found him!” Patton exclaimed in excitement. He was so happy to see Virgil was safe and away from Roman.

“It would seem he found us.” Logan corrected. “Judging by the way he was staring at us from a distance.” Logan looked down at Virgil as he sat down. “Just how long have you been watching us, exactly?”

It was weird, how he could go from talking back to Roman one minute and then be completely paralyzed with Logan in the next. All he could do was shake in the grip.

Patton noticed this and frowned, looking up at Logan. “I think you should put him down, you’re scaring him.”

“Ah yes, I had nearly forgotten.” Logan said with a slight wince. It had been so nice with Patton that Logan had almost erased all traces of Virgil’s opposing behaviors. He set the borrower within the cage, which was still for the most part barren.

Patton wasted no time in hopping into the cage and pulling Virgil into a bear hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay…How on earth did you get away from Roman? He didn’t hurt you did he?” Granted, Roman hadn’t really hurt Patton either, but Patton also hadn’t been with him too long. He pulled Virgil and arms length away from him to check him over.

But instead of answering, Virgil shook his head and Patton recognized the look of panic on his face. “Pat, what are you _doing_?”

“Huh?” Patton asked. What did Virgil mean?

Logan glanced at his phone, checking the time. He was never very invested in emotions, such as this little reunion. Logan has many questions about Virgil’s sudden appearance, but his timing was awful. Hopefully Patton could calm Virgil down quickly.

“What are you doing with-” Virgil stopped and glanced at Logan, before pulling Patton closer to him and turning around. “What are you doing with  _Logan_. You-You looked like you were helping him design your own cage!” Virgil whispered. Patton blinked, before he smiled softly.

“No, you got it all wrong!” Patton said, speaking normally and turning back around towards Logan, causing Virgil to pale. “Logan’s refurbishing this old thing into some sort of dollhouse type thing! And he said we could help him! Right Logan?” He asked, looking towards the human. Virgil’s grip on his arm grew tighter.

“Hmm?” Logan didn’t even look up, trying to plan out his evening schedule still especially with this new change of plans. Things were going to be tight, and difficult decisions had to be made. “Oh, yes.”

Virgil shook his head and pulled Patton closer again. Turning back around. “Patton, he’s _lying_  to you.” Patton blinked.

“But-” Virgil held a finger to his mouth.

“Shh!” Virgil took in a deep breath. “Pat, we have to get out of here.  _Now_ , while he’s distracted.” Virgil glanced back, happy to see Logan still focused on his phone. Without waiting for any answer from Patton, Virgil pulled Patton along as they exited the cage and headed towards the edge of the desk.

“Hold it.” Logan leaned forward, placing his arm in front of the two would-be escapees. He put his phone down, now solely focused on the borrowers as he frowned down at Virgil. “Why must you make everything so difficult again? Where  _were_  you? What’s happened? How did you get back here?”

Virgil came to a screeching halt as Logan’s arm came down in front of them. He shook, backing away slowly, gripping Patton’s arm tight. The questions only reminded of him of his earlier time with Logan.

Patton still didn’t know what was going on, but he knew terrified when he saw it. “Logan, stop. Virgil’s probably been through a lot and your questions aren’t really helping.”

Logan took a long look at Patton, seeming to be calculating something out in his head.

“…fine.” Logan sighed, deciding his questions could wait until later. He did need to get going, after all. With the arm not currently blocking the borrower’s path, he set his palm down on the desk near Patton.

Patton stared at the hand for a second, glancing at Virgil, who was now clinging to his side. Half his face buried in his shirt with one eye looking warily at Logan. Patton sighed. “Um, I don’t think that’s the best idea right now.” Patton said, looking from the hand to Logan’s face. Virgil backed away, pulling Patton with him a few steps.

“Patton, I don’t have time for this.” Logan warned, looking at the borrower sternly.

Patton glared at the human. “Hey, Virgil is clearly terrified right now and in no state to do the things you want him to do. In fact, I think it might be best if you left us alone for a bit. Virgil’s more likely to talk to me than you.” He turned his attention back to Virgil, rubbing his arm soothingly.

“It’s okay bud, everything’s fine.” He whispered to the other borrower. But Virgil simply shook his head. Patton had just talked back to Logan, had basically told him no. And Virgil knew Logan would not be happy about that.

“…Alright, fair enough.” Logan answered. He reached out, trying to be gentle as he gathered up each borrower in a fist so as not to aggravate any injuries.

As Patton found himself in Logan’s grip, he struggled on instinct. “L-Logan! Hey! What are you doing?”

Seeing Patton get caught in a fist as well, Virgil finally found his voice. “Let us go!”

Logan ignored both sets of protests, depositing both back into the cage.

Patton blinked, only to see he was once again in the cage. “L-Logan…?” He asked, looking up at the human. To his side, Virgil groaned in pain, as he had landed on his arm after being put back in the cage.

Logan felt a strange pang in his chest at the look Patton was giving him. He felt the need to explain himself, justify his actions, but then his phone alarm went off signalling he had to go.

“I’m sorry about this.” Logan shut the cage door, standing up. He gathered up his things, looking at the borrowers with pity. “I’ll explain everything when I get back, Patton. I promise.” With this last promise, Logan left.

Patton flew towards the door of the cage, hands going around the bars. “Logan, wait!” He pushed against the door, but it held. His eyes widened in a sudden realization. “He…He locked us in…”

“Like I said, he was lying Pat.” Patton turned towards Virgil’s voice, who had sat up and was leaning against the bars, looking sad. “This cage had always been for you and me, to keep us locked away…”

“No…” Patton murmured softly, hand going to cover his mouth. Virgil saw the tears start to form in his eyes and he sighed.

“Come here, Pat.” Virgil opened his arms and Patton practically launched himself into them. He broke down.

“B-But he said-he said he would help me find you…” Virgil rubbed Patton’s back soothingly.

“I’m sorry, but he just wanted to find me for himself. I think…I think I need to tell you how Logan really is.” Virgil said, causing Patton to move apart a bit, just enough to look him in the eyes.

“Huh?”

Virgil sighed and started to explain all that had happened when he had gotten caught by Logan.


	18. A Blessing in Disguise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman does some illegal stuff but it's fine because it's for borrowers.

Logan groaned, locking his front door and briefly hitting his head against it. Why did Virgil have to come back  _now_? If it had been any other time, Logan would have been able to explain himself. Patton would probably have helped. But no, Virgil just had to arrive moments before Logan left for class.

 Logan tried to convince himself he was doing the right thing. After all, both borrowers wouldn’t fit in his pocket, and Patton had suggested the two should have some time alone.

 It felt…wrong to lock the borrowers up like that after seeing their reaction, but what choice did he have? If Logan simply let them have the run of his apartment they’d surely escape. There had even been an attempt before his very eyes.

 And Logan couldn’t let them leave. After all, the world was a dangerous place full of humans who would want to do them harm. Logan was only serving as a barrier to such threats.

 “Oof!” Logan accidentally ran into one such human. He glared, now having a name to put to a face for his obnoxious upstairs neighbor. “Oh, you again.”

 “What’re you doing here?” Roman said incredulously, barely recognizing the student he had bumped into this morning.

 “I live here, you dolt.” Logan scoffed, walking past him and out the door.

 “Well, you don’t have to be rude about it.” Roman rolled his eyes, heading inside and up the stairs. “Honestly, it was just a simple question…” The mention of questions made Roman remember what awaited him back in his apartment. Though he was a bit uneasy answering all of Virgil’s questions, Roman was prepared to do it. After all, this was the most guaranteed way of gaining Virgil’s trust. Then it would be only a few short steps to finding Patton. Hopefully.

 “I’m back!” Roman announced himself to the empty apartment. He walked into the kitchen, not spotting Virgil where he left him. Roman glanced around a bit, wondering where Virgil could have gone. After all, he wasn’t very big.

 “Virgil?” Roman called out, walking from room to room. He began to look under the furniture, wondering if perhaps the borrower was hiding.

 “Virgil, this isn’t funny.” Roman started searching in more ridiculous spots such as the microwave or his pillowcase, trying to find any trace of his new friend. No luck.

 Roman tried not to panic as he called Virgil’s name over and over with no response. He combed the entire apartment twice with no success. Where could the borrower have gone? First Patton, and now-

 …

 “Hang on a moment,” Roman said, putting the pieces together. Though he was the last one to arrive to the correct conclusion, Roman’s run in downstairs made him finally realize what had happened. That other guy, the one who had run into him twice now, was there right before both Patton and now Virgil went missing. He was the missing link!

 Roman dashed down to the fourth floor, knowing this must be where the guy lived. This neighbor was the only one who Roman hadn’t met, after all. The guy was too much of a hermit.

 “Open up!” Roman called, banging on the door. There was no response, only for Roman to smack himself on the forehead. Of course, there wasn’t, Roman had just seen the tenant leaving the building.

 Instead, Roman pulled a spare bobby pin out of his hair and began jamming it into the lock. “C’mon, this always works in movies!” Roman huffed, twisting it back and forth. A moment later the pin nearly snapped in half, and Roman realized perhaps it would be best to stop before he permanently broke the lock entirely.

 “Alright, think.” Roman began to pace in front of the door, trying to think of other ways he could possibly get inside. Preferably something that played up to his talents. Eyes widening, Roman got a brilliant idea. He dashed upstairs to grab a spare set of glasses from a leftover costume. Looking in the mirror, Roman made a strangely convincing lookalike to the nerdy stranger.

 Now properly equipped, Roman took the stairs all the way down to the first-floor lobby. Man, all these stairs were getting ridiculous. Why didn’t this building have an elevator?

 “Ah, good afternoon miss.” Roman greeted the woman behind the counter, pleased to see it was not someone he recognized. Or more importantly, someone who would recognize him. “I seem to have locked myself out, do you think you could help me? I live on the fourth floor.”

 The woman looked up some information on her monitor, turning to him. “You’re Logan Sanders?”

 _So that’s his name._  “Yes,” Roman said with a smile.

 “Alright, I can lend you a temporary key for the day.” The woman explained. “I’ll need to see some ID.”

 “Wonderful!” Roman handed over his ID before he even fully realized what he was doing. The woman looked between it and him.

 “This says your name is Roman Sanders?” She raised an eyebrow. Roman paled.

 “Logan’s….my preferred name.” Roman quickly fibbed, grateful that fate had blessed the two of them with the same last name.

 “Gotcha.” The woman seemed pleased with this request, typing out some more info. “Alright, I’ll just keep this here, and you get this.” She put Roman’s ID in a cubby, handing over a metal key. Roman sighed in relief, clutching it tightly.

 “Thank you, kind soul,” Roman said, quickly dashing back up the stairs.

 “Uh, you’re welcome?” Her response was barely heard as Roman hurried along. After all, he had already spent a large amount of time searching for Virgil, and he had no idea when Logan would be back.

 Roman turned the key in the lock, peering his head around the door like some sort of secret spy wannabe. Man, Logan was a nerd. There looked to be more books here than at the local library.

 “Virgil?” Roman hissed quietly, looking around for any sign of the smaller beings. “Patton?” Roman combed through the living room and kitchen with no success. He paused at the bedroom door, feeling like this was an invasion of privacy. Of course, he had already come this far. And there could be lives at stake!

 Roman entered, eyes immediately coming to land on the cage sitting atop the desk.

 Virgil had just finished his story when the door suddenly opened. Both borrowers expected Logan and were shocked to see that it was…Roman? With glasses on?

 Virgil shook his head, this was not the time to be focusing on that right now. “Roman?” He called out. He was almost happy to see him. At the very least he was better than Logan. Patton, however, had a different opinion about Roman and squeaked in fear as he saw him.

 “Virgil! Patton!” Roman cried happily, rushing over. He put an arm on either side of the cage and crouched down to look at eye level with them sympathetically. “You poor things, what happened?”

 “Logan’s what happened. Stupid jerk trapped us in here.” Virgil explained, happy to see he had regained his bite in Roman’s presence. Patton glanced at Roman before burying his face into Virgil’s side. Admittedly, he wasn’t very happy to see Roman.

 “Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of there.” Roman quickly unlatched the bars, reaching a hand in.

 As Patton’s grip grew tighter, Virgil glared at Roman. “Roman! No grabbing!” He said, scooting back a little to put more space between them. Patton tensed. Now he knew how Virgil had felt when he had been buddy with Logan. What was Virgil  _doing_?

 “I wasn’t!” Roman’s face flushed, not admitting that he had indeed forgotten about that in his excitement. He put his hand down instead. “See?” Roman insisted.

 Virgil rolled his eyes and moved to stand up, but found he couldn’t as Patton was still clutching onto him, holding him down. Virgil’s eyes turned sympathetic. “Pat, it’s okay.” He murmured to his best friend. “He may not be the best, but he’s better than Logan. He actually listens for one thing.” Patton was silent for a moment.

 “He never listened to me…” At his words, Virgil felt a fire ignite in him. He knew it. He glanced back to glare at Roman, before turning back to Patton.

 “I know, but please Pat, we’ve got to go before Logan comes back.” Patton didn’t move, but when Virgil tried to move him along, he came. Virgil pulled them both onto the hand.

 “I’m… sorry.” Roman went to rub a finger along Patton’s side, but halfway there he thought better of it. Instead, he pulled both borrowers out of the cage and against his chest, trying to keep them both equally supported.

 “Okay, so- I may not have come here with a complete plan,” Roman admitted, glancing towards the front door. “Any thoughts on how to avoid the whole ‘hide the borrowers while in public’ rule?”

 Virgil groaned. “I hate to ask, but do you have any pockets?” While he didn’t like being in a pocket, it was preferred over being out in the open,

 “Uuuuh…” Roman looked down at his outfit, which only contained two very tight pockets in his jeans. “No.”

 Virgil bit his lip, looking over Roman, but everywhere else he could think of either wouldn’t work, or was too dangerous. “…Fine. Keep us close to your chest and I swear if anyone sees us…” He trailed off, glaring at Roman.

 “I can’t be blamed for that!” Roman said indignantly, but he held up his other hand to cover the borrowers and hurried out into the hall.

 As they were along for the ride back to Roman’s apartment, Patton couldn’t help but think. Despite Virgil’s story and Logan’s actions and behavior towards the end…there was something in his eyes as he left. Something that made Patton want to hear whatever explanation Logan had. Sure, he was scared, terrified even, of Logan now…But Virgil also had told him that Logan had changed his mind about showing them off to the world. That had to count for something, right?

 But Roman…Patton had no good memories with Roman. Virgil seemed fine with him and he did seem to be listening…but what if he was just doing it to get his way? Lying about having changed, to get them to stay forever?

 Patton leaned more into Virgil, shaking.


	19. Every Action Has Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rescue attempts sometimes alert homeowners, and sometimes said homeowners forget their cellular devices.  
> But I'm sure that's all irrelevant.  
> Borrowers would never be in danger.

 Logan sighed, barely listening as his teacher droned on and on. He had his laptop open, instead flipping through his various messages to try and be a little productive. **  
**

Unfortunately, all Logan could truly focus on was the heavy feeling in his chest. He couldn’t stop picturing the look of betrayal on Patton’s face when he left. Why, _why_  had he even left? Logan scolded himself for not just skipping this class entirely. After all, he wasn’t gaining anything from this experience. All he was doing was scrolling mindlessly…

 A new alert popped up, signaling he had a new email. Logan clicked on it, eyes scanning the text.

_Dear tenant,_

_This is a confirmation email regarding the checkout of a spare key to your floor: Unit 4. Please be advised that there will be a $20 fee if the key is not returned within the 24 hour period._

 Logan frowned, rereading the email to double check its validity. He hadn’t checked out a spare key. Was this just some electronic mistake?

 …But what if this was real? His eyes widened in slight fear. That meant someone had access to his apartment, as well as the tiny residents inside.

 Logan jumped out of his chair, grabbing his laptop and coat and dashing out the door.

 “Logan!” A fellow student called after him, but Logan paid him no mind. He raced through the halls, not stopping to say hello to any of his professors or peers as he nearly ran them over.

 “Logan, your phone!” Thomas stepped out into the hall, waving the device above his head, but it was already too late. Logan was out of sight.

 “Don’t worry.” Dr. Dee stepped up to the student, hand outstretched. “I’ll see him tomorrow, I can return it to him.”

 “Oh, it’s no problem, sir.” Thomas smiled. “I live in the same building, I can just-”

 “Hand over the phone, Thomas.” Dr. Dee said with a slight growl. Thomas clutched it slightly to his chest, looking concerned.

 “….No, sir, I’ve got it.” Thomas insisted, giving the dean a wary glance as he went back into the classroom. Dr. Dee sighed. Why did students have to make his life so difficult?

\-------------------------------

 “Alright, home sweet home,” Roman announced, breathing a sigh of relief when he encountered no other human beings on his path back up to the 5th floor.

 Knowing Patton wanted down as soon as possible, Virgil looked up at Roman. “Great. Can you set us down now?”

 “Absolutely.” Roman went over and placed his hands on the coffee table, letting the borrowers off before sitting cross-legged on the floor.

 Patton was glad to be back on solid ground, but he eyed Roman warily, huddling near Virgil. Virgil, for his part, had his arms crossed and seemed almost unaffected by the human in front of him.

 “So, what now?” Virgil asked, trying to figure out what Roman was planning to do with them. They were away from Logan, sure, but Roman was still unpredictable. And something told Virgil he too, wasn’t too keen on letting them go.

 “Well…” Roman shifted a bit, looking uncomfortable but knowing it had to be addressed. “I suppose we need to get back to your questions.”

 Virgil raised an eyebrow. “Do we?” He motioned to Patton. “Because I’m pretty sure Pat’s reaction to you is answer enough.” Said borrower was still clinging to Virgil’s arm, trying to look anywhere but at Roman.

 “What? That’s not because of me, is it?” Roman asked, looking upset. “That’s because of whatever horrible thing  _Logan_  did. He’s just in shock… right?”

 “Sorry, but he wasn’t even close to acting like this until you showed up,” Virgil said, not actually very sorry at all. Patton squirmed under Roman’s gaze.

 “I’d rather be back with Logan,” Patton mumbled, only loud enough for Virgil to hear. Virgil’s eyes widened as he turned towards his best friend.

 “Woah, you don’t mean that, right?” He said loudly in shock. Sure Roman was, well, Roman, but even Virgil could see now that he was a much better alternative to  _Logan_  at the very least.

 “Wait, mean what?” Roman leaned forwards anxiously.

 Virgil turned to look back up at Roman. “He said he would rather be with…with  _Logan_ , but there is no way. Right, Patton?” Patton looked from Virgil to Roman and then down to the floor.

 Honestly, Logan hadn’t been so bad, well up until the last little bit. Sure he had…apparently lied, but he had also listened to Patton fairly well. Something Roman hadn’t done while he was with him. Not to mention, Logan had helped patch him up.

 He’d had good experiences with Logan…Roman…not so much.

 “I…I do…mean it.” Patton answered, this time loud enough for Roman to hear.

 Roman couldn’t help but feel a bit angry with Patton. After all, Logan had stolen him away and put him in a cage. Roman was the one to take the risks and save him. And this was the thanks he got? Patton saying he wanted to go back?

 But more than his irritation, Roman felt sadness. He felt disappointed in himself for failing Patton this terribly and making the borrower hate him so.

 “I…” Roman pulled his knees up to his chest, looking down at his feet morosely. “I’m… sorry, you feel that way, Patton.”

 Virgil looked from Patton to Roman, both practically curled up in on themselves. Patton was to be expected, but Roman? Now Virgil was even more curious as to what had happened between them.

 “Alright, you know what? I think you’re right, we should get back into the questions.” Virgil announced, before thinking. “Did you ignore Patton’s fear in order to satisfy your own curiosity?” Virgil asked, picking up where they had left off. He was more inclined to believe Roman’s answers this time around, especially with Patton right there to help with any misinformation.

 “I did.” Roman closed his eyes briefly with a sigh, feeling as though he was being judged while in line for a guillotine.

 “How did you get Patton to tell you about borrowers?” Virgil asked, probably the most curious about this question. Patton jumped a little next to him, but Virgil quickly calmed him, letting him know through his actions that he wasn’t mad at Patton. How could he be?

 Roman bit his lip, almost as if he was stalling for time. Still, he couldn’t deny the truth, especially when Patton was standing right there. Roman would just have to be honest and see what came of it. Whatever happened, he deserved it, right?

 “It’s not entirely my fault.” Roman explained. “You see, I was asking Patton all sorts of questions because, you know, curiosity. But Patton kept trying to leave and then  _he_  was the one who asked if I’d… let him go if he answered them.”

 “So, let me get this straight,” Virgil spoke, pinching his nose. He had been afraid of this. “Patton, who clearly did not want to be here, asked to be let go. Yet you were far too curious, ignored his fear, and  _lied_  to him saying you would let him go if he answered your questions? Am I right?” He looked at Patton, who nodded.

 “Yeah, sounds like your fault.”

 “I didn’t lie!” Roman quickly shook his head. He leaned forward, hands on his knees and looking a bit desperate. “I really was going to let Patton leave, honest!”

 “Really?” Virgil said, not believing it. “Then tell me, are you going to let  _us_  leave then?”

 Before Roman could answer, his front door was thrown wide open. Within the doorway stood a panting, disheveled, and  _very_  annoyed Logan.

 Both borrowers immediately turned at the noise, having different reactions to seeing Logan.

 For Virgil, his body froze and he took a few steps back. He thought he was done with this, thought he had  _finally_  gotten away from Logan. He should have known the human was not one to give up. And he looked a mix between annoyed and  _angry_. A combination Virgil knew was not a good one.

 Patton, on the other hand, perked up. Sure, he was a little scared at the sight of Logan, especially after taking in his expression. But maybe now he could learn more! Patton subconsciously took a step forward. Effectively leaving Virgil’s side for the first time since they reunited. “Logan!”

 “You-!” Logan stepped towards Roman with an accusing finger but paused with a confused expression. “Are you wearing glasses?”

 Roman stood up, tossing the fake glasses to the side. Honestly, he had forgotten he was wearing them.

 “Why are you here?” Roman tried his best to look taller, crossing his arms.

 “Why do you think?” Logan gave a false laugh. “Because I had my class interrupted after some lunatic checked out a key and raided my apartment!”

 “Oh please.” Roman rolled his eyes. “I did not  _raid_  your apartment, I merely  _saved_  the borrowers  _you_  imprisoned!” Logan was wide-eyed, hurrying to shut the door before anyone heard them.

 “Keep your voice down!” Logan hissed. “Do you want the whole building to know?”


	20. Let's Play Favorites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that the four are finally in the same room, it's time to see who is, objectively, the worst.

Virgil tried to keep track of the conversation taking place above his head, trying hard not to succumb to panic. He had already so many times in Logan’s presence. Speaking of, he was at least glad the human had some semblance of secrecy. Roman could definitely be a little too loud.

Patton winced at the loud voices, but continued to look back and forth between both humans. So far, Logan hadn’t so much as glanced at them. Too focused on Roman.

“Lo-!” He was cut off by a hand over his mouth. He looked behind him to Virgil who had stopped his shout and was shaking his head. The last thing Virgil wanted to do was get in between an argument between two humans.

“Oh, like you really care.” Roman rolled his eyes. “You just don’t want anyone besides  _you_  to have them.”

“Don’t act like you’re innocent, either.” Logan pushed his glasses further up his nose to help him focus. “Patton told me all about your intentions as well.”

“I’m a clean slate now.” Roman replied, waving a hand in the direction of the borrowers. “We were just discussing my past. Did I make mistakes? Sure! But I’ve learned from them. And at least I never locked anyone in a cage.”

“Only for a little while.” Logan muttered, looking a tad guilty.

“But what I really want to know-” Roman said irritably, now pointing an accusing finger at Logan. “-is what the heck  _you’ve_  done. What makes you so special, Specs? Why is it that after everything I’ve tried to do, how helpful i’ve tried to be, Patton still chooses  _you_  over  _me_?!”

Logan blinked, surprised at this declaration. He turned to the coffee table, looking directly at Patton.

“Is that true?” Logan asked, ignoring the way Roman was still glaring daggers at him.

Patton nodded. “I have…questions. A lot of questions…and I am scared, but I don’t-I don’t think you’re a bad person.”

Virgil blinked, coming up next to Patton to face him. “Seriously? After everything he did to me? To  _us_.” Patton shut his eyes, tensing.

“I know, I know!” He sighed. “But he changed his mind about showing you off, remember? And he helped me when he realized I was hurt and listened when I said I didn’t like being grabbed…” Patton trailed off.

“Does that mean I have a clean slate, too?” Logan said, perking up. He was relieved that even after the cage incident, it seemed at least Patton was willing to forgive him.

“What? No!” Roman dragged Logan over to the coffee table, pointing to the ground. “Sit down.” Logan raised an eyebrow, but did as asked. Roman then sat next to him.

“Alright.” Roman turned to the borrowers. “Judgement time. Lay down your best questions. Let  _him_  have it.”

“Excuse me?” Logan looked around, wondering what exactly was happening.

Virgil would be lying if he said he didn’t have a number of questions to ask Logan. As well as a number of  _things_  to tell him. However, meeting Logan’s eyes, Virgil found he couldn’t find his voice.  _You are such a coward._

Patton looked over at Virgil in concern, wondering if he should take over asking the questions.

“Guys, c’mon!” Roman frowned, looking at Virgil. “Virgil, you’re…surprisingly unvocal about this.” Roman gave Logan an accusing look. “Let’s start there. Why’s Virgil so quiet, huh?”

“I assume it stems from a shy or quiet demeanor.” Logan answered. “Although given the circumstances, it’s likely also a byproduct of instinctual fear.”

Virgil glared at Logan, forcing himself to speak. “It’s a lot more than-than instinctual.” Virgil revealed, wincing at the way he stuttered.

“Falsehood.” Logan shook his head. “Though there may be other factors or situations that have heightened the amount or effect of the fear, the emotion itself still stems from an instinctual fear of beings larger than oneself.” Logan turned to Roman. “It’s also why you tried to appear taller when I arrived.”

“I’m not afraid of you!” Roman sneered, looking off put by Logan’s comment. “And you’re not that much taller than me, anyways.” Roman muttered as an afterthought, pouting.

Virgil grit his teeth. “Well then, being with you has certainly  _heightened_  my fear.” Virgil practically growled out, happy to note he hadn’t stuttered that time. “What with all the grabbing and-and studying and t-trapping…” Virgil shuddered, wrapping his arms around himself. He didn’t ease up on his glare though.

Patton looked between Virgil and Logan, deciding to stay out of this for the moment.

“Ah, well, yes.” Logan rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable.

“Oh ho ho, and the truth comes out!” Roman grinned, glad to see both Logan getting his just desserts and Virgil once again standing up for himself.

“Not to mention,” Virgil continued, “you were going to show me off. Even after I told you why that was a bad idea. Even after I told you countless humans had  _killed_ us in the past…but all you were thinking about was yourself. You never saw me as a person. You still don’t, do you? You just see me and Patton as-as  _test subjects_  or something.  _Things_ to study and observe…” Virgil was shaking badly, from both anger and fear. Patton placed a comforting hand on Virgil’s shoulder and Virgil placed his own hand on top of it as he looked down.

“…Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the day came that you became _bored_  of the two of us.” Virgil said, hoping Logan remembered and understood what he meant by that.

Roman went quiet, looking down at Virgil with sympathy. He had no idea his little friend had been harboring so much trauma. “Oh, Virgil…”

Logan winced, knowing that many things Virgil had said were true. He had thought along that line of thinking, and he had walked that path. But thanks mostly to Patton, Logan no longer wanted to be that person.

“Virgil, you are…correct.” Logan chose his words carefully, feeling the pressure as if all eyes were on him. “I did begin with that mindset from the initial discovery. I have made choices that upon inspection were absurdly inhumane. But I can prove to you that I have changed.” Logan reached into his back pocket, only for his eyes to widen. “Oh no.”

“Oh no?” Roman repeated.

“My…my phone’s gone.” Logan paled slightly.

“Your _phone_?” Roman said incredulously. “Virgil pours his heart out and you’re worried about a phone?!”

Virgil furrowed his eyebrows at Logan, before his own eyes went wide in sudden remembrance and realization. “The photos.”

Patton looked at Virgil, confused. “Photos?”

“That phone is more than just a cellular device.” Logan explained. “I use it to store all my important documents. Throughout this endeavor I had been working on a scientific journal detailing the specifics of borrowers, which included photographic evidence of Virgil, as well as audio recordings of Patton.”

Patton blinked. “What? W-When did you do that?” Patton asked, feeling a little betrayed and it showed in his face and voice. Virgil glared at Logan, but shuddered as he remembered when Logan had taken those pictures. Not fun.

“Apologies, Patton.” Logan winced. “It was while you were giving a description of borrowers. I didn’t want to interrupt you to grab a notebook and risk not getting as much information.”

Patton deflated a little. “O-Oh.” Patton thought for a second. “But, if you aren’t planning on showing us to anyone, why are you still gathering information?” Was Virgil right?

“Well, mostly habit.” Logan explained. “It’s how I best process new information. Even if I was the only one to ever know about the two of you, I didn’t want to forget anything.” Logan looked briefly down at his lap. “And, if you ever left…at least I’d have something to know I wasn’t just crazy.”

Patton hummed, not sure what to think of that.

Meanwhile, Virgil was still freaking out. “What are we still sitting around here for! You’re phone is out there somewhere and if someone sees what’s on it, that’s it. We’re done!”

“Here.” Roman shoved his own phone at Logan, having thought the same thing.

“What’s this for, exactly?” Logan asked, looking down at it.

“To find your phone, of course!” Roman said exasperatedly, having been setting this up for the past minute or so. “Now hurry up, if you just type in your Apple ID we can track it down and-”

“I don’t have an iphone.” Logan interrupted him. Roman stared at him a few moments.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Roman deadpanned.

“I’m an android user.” Logan assured him.

“Logan, you are now officially the worst human being on the planet.” Roman huffed, taking his phone back. Truly all the stuff about kidnapping his friends was what really sealed the deal, but this android business was just the cherry on top.

“We’ll just have to retrace my steps manually.” Logan said, standing up. “It shouldn’t take long, I had it within the last hour.”

“Fine by me.” Roman said, also standing.

Both humans put their hands down on opposite sides of the coffee table, waiting for borrowers to climb on.

Virgil sighed at having to do this again, but wasted no time in going over to Roman’s hand. He glanced behind him after not hearing any footsteps, only to see Patton having not moved. Virgil followed his gaze, realizing he was looking at Logan. “Patton?” Surely he wasn’t actually thinking about going with Logan?

Patton bit his lip, catching eyes with Virgil. He sighed. “I’m sorry Virgil.” He knew Virgil didn’t understand, heck, Patton barely understood himself, but he still wanted to give Logan a chance. He walked over to Logan’s hand, getting on after some hesitation.

“Really?” Roman tried to ignore the small smug look Logan gave him, as well as the feeling of hurt that Patton  _still_ didn’t trust him. “You do realize  _he’s_  the one who lost the phone, right?”

“The last place I saw it was in the biology lecture this evening.” Logan ignored him, lifting Patton up to his chest pocket. “So we should start there.”

Virgil just watched as Patton was lifted up and flopped into the pocket. He wanted to say he was surprised but…he wasn’t. He had known Patton for a long time and the borrower was known to see the good in everyone. It was why Virgil knew that, if given the chance, Patton would eventually warm up to Roman. Especially _this_  version of Roman. That didn’t mean Virgil understood though and he was more than a little upset.

Turning away, Virgil climbed into Roman’s hand.

Roman was glad that at least Virgil trusted him, but as he raised the borrower up Roman was again reminded of his lack of pockets.

“Uh, how about this?” Roman suggested, coming over and placing his hand in the bag that still sat on the couch from earlier. “Because, well…. No pockets.” He admitted sheepishly.

Virgil sighed. Honestly, it hadn’t been too bad the last time he was in there. “Fine.”

Roman let Virgil off, putting the bag over his shoulder. He followed Logan out into the hall, locking the door behind them.

“You know, if you were concerned about a lack of pockets, you could have also just changed.” Logan pointed out.

“…shut up.” Roman muttered, too embarrassed to admit he hadn’t thought of that.


	21. Hey Cellular Device, Where You At?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan and Roman head to the school to look for Logan's phone.

“So….” Roman said, trying to make conversation in the incredibly tense car. “Are you going to take seventh street?” **  
**

“Eighth is faster.” Logan replied, passing the street without even a second glance.

“No, seventh street is-”

“I take this route everyday, I know what i’m doing.” Logan snapped. Roman flinched a bit at his tone, causing Logan to sigh. “Sorry, I’m just...stressed.”

“Of course.” Roman wouldn’t expect anything else. Especially since this was all Logan’s fault, but he wasn’t about to bring that up now. Only later when there’d be time to gloat. Instead, perhaps now was a good time to try and keep Logan calm. “Well, I mean, it’s not actually the  _worst_  thing in the world. You lock your phone, right?”

Logan’s hands tensed on the steering wheel.

“Right?” Roman pressed, feeling a bit uneasy.

“I actually found the process of having to type in my password every time I wished to log in tedious.” Logan admitted sheepishly, eyes set on the road. “It became so much of a hassle, and usually I’m so attentive to its whereabouts that I found it illogical to worry about.”

“Oh, so you can lock a cage, but not a phone?” Roman said exasperatedly. He sulked back in the seat, looking annoyed. If this phone was really so important as everybody was saying, he hoped that it was kept out of the wrong hands for both borrower’s sake.

* * *

 

**\----------------------------------**

Thomas walked towards the library, settling into the back corner. He always liked to come here after class to get some late night studying done, especially since no one came back here. Although as he sat down, Thomas remembered he still had Logan’s phone after his classmate left it behind in class. Logan’s behavior was so strange today. First Thomas saw him lugging around a cage this morning, and now Logan ducked out of class in a rush before the end? So mysterious.

Still, he was probably looking for this. Thomas figured he should probably call someone on Logan’s contact list, just so that Logan could know what was going on. After all, Thomas had no idea how long it’d be until he actually got home.

“Oh, shoot-!” Thomas accidentally clicked into a tab still open on Logan’s phone, and a message began to play aloud:

_P: -But it’s things like, don’t talk to humans, don’t be seen, don’t give out any information. Things like-_

Thomas quickly muted it, looking around to see if he had disturbed anyone. He hadn’t; he was still the only one in this section of the library.

Thomas looked down at the phone in his hands. That message was certainly...odd. And it seemed the recording went on for at least four hours. What the heck was this? Thomas bit his lip. He didn’t want to snoop, but...maybe this was important? Surely there wasn’t enough storage on Logan’s phone to save all of this. Thomas could just make sure nothing of value was accidentally deleted.

Having convinced himself enough, Thomas quickly pulled out a pair of earbuds and tuned back into the message still playing:

_L: A borrower?_

This time Thomas recognized Logan’s voice. He frowned. What the heck was a borrower? Thomas rewound the recording to see if he had missed anything, but all he could gather was that this guy Patton was somehow held hostage by...Roman? Was this some sort of script or something? Thomas certainly hoped it was, as he didn’t want to think of his neighbor as capable of something so cruel. But even if this was just acting, Patton’s voice sounded incredibly heartbreaking. And also, strangely quiet. Thomas often had to adjust the volume just to hear him.

As the recording went on and Thomas got more invested, he began to notice more signs that pointed to Patton not being entirely... human. What was he? There was talk about grabbing and pockets. Thomas glanced down at his own shirt. Could Patton really fit inside a  _pocket?_

Later on, Thomas also recognized Dr. Dee’s voice. He tuned in especially to this part, hoping to get some explanation for the professor’s strange behavior this evening. Instead all Thomas caught was something about fairy folk, only adding to the idea that Patton was some kind of tiny enchanted creature. Of course, it was hard to picture that from his voice alone.

Thomas skipped ahead in the recording when it sounded like Logan was just in class, having forgotten to turn his phone off. In fact, most of this sounded as though Logan didn’t know it was recording given the amount of shuffling and background noise.

_D: Where are you going with that cage?_

“Oh no.” Thomas gasped, remembering this conversation from this morning but now seeing it in a new light. He didn’t want his terrible thoughts to be true, but suddenly Thomas was feeling very worried for Patton. Thomas tried to listen during what sounded like Logan’s car ride home for an explanation, but the car engine made it impossible for Thomas to pick out anything for sure. Still, when the voices picked back up at least Patton sounded okay.

The knot in Thomas’ stomach began to untie, listening to the usual banter between Patton and Logan. At least by now he felt he understood the gist of what was happening; Patton was some little fairy borrower thing that was found by Roman and then Logan.

_P: Oh, but maybe we should focus on getting Virgil back first?_

Wait, who the heck is Virgil?!

**\---------------------------------**

“This is where I last had it.” Logan waved his arm around the empty classroom.

“Well, it’s not here.” Roman stood up from his place on the floor where he had been checking under desks. “We should try the lost and found.”

“Your faith in humanity astounds me.” Logan frowned. “You really think someone would just willingly turn in a phone?”

“It’s an android, no one wants it.” Roman glared at him. “Besides, do you have any other bright ideas?” Logan glanced around, poking his head out into the hall.

“I...may have one.” Logan admitted. “But I don’t think it’s best if Patton accompanies me.”

“Alright fine, then I’ll take the borrowers and check lost and found while you go off and do your lone wolf thing.” Roman rolled his eyes, holding out his palms.

Logan reached his fingers in, pulling Patton out and placing him gently onto Roman’s hands.

Patton started to shake as he was transferred into Roman’s hands. He turned back to Logan with pleading eyes. “Why can’t I go with you? I’ll be fine!” He’d still rather be far away from Roman.

“I’m sorry, Patton.” Logan winced. “I don’t want to risk putting you in danger.” He didn’t truly trust Roman’s judgement, but in this situation he didn’t have much of a choice.

“You’ll be perfectly safe, I promise.” Roman said softly, trying to comfort Patton without overwhelming him. “You can hang out with Virgil in the bag. That’ll be fun, right?”

Patton let out a little whine, but sighed. “A-Alright.” At least he’d be with Virgil again. Even though his friend was probably mad at him for going with Logan.

Roman slowly lowered his hands into the bag, allowing Patton to get off.

Virgil moved out of the way as he saw Roman’s hand lower and Patton get off. Immediately he went up to hug his friend, a quick reassurance that he wasn’t mad at him. Because he knew that’s what Patton thought.

Patton tensed, but relaxed into the hug. “I’m sorry Virgil, it’s just-”

“I get it, well, half get it. But it’s fine, Pat. Really.” It was Logan’s fault after all, tricking Patton. And though they were rushing around to get Logan’s phone back, that didn’t mean Logan didn’t still want to keep them. It just meant he no longer wanted to show them off. Virgil was only going along with this because he really didn’t want that to happen either.

They pulled away from the hug and Virgil looked up. “Okay guys, let’s get a move on!” He shouted out, panic filled. They  _needed_  to find that phone, otherwise…

Well, Virgil would blame himself for borrowers being discovered.

Roman put the strap over his shoulder, lifting the bag.

“Careful!” Logan warned, putting his hands out reflexively.

“I’m being careful.” Roman hissed. He glanced at his own phone. “Let’s meet back here in... 10 minutes?”

“Deal.” Logan went off down the hallway, Roman going the opposite direction. He walked up to the now familiar door, giving it a firm knock. For a few minutes there was no response, and Logan wondered if the professor had gone home for the night. It was very late.

“Logan Sanders.” Dr. Dee opened the door, giving Logan a look that could be interpreted either as surprised or as though he was expecting to see the student. Logan wasn’t sure what would be a more worrying interpretation. “Office hours are closed.”

“I’m aware.” Logan took a deep breath, trying to convince himself this was a sound decision. He had no reason to truly suspect the dean had his phone, other than a gut suspicion that the professor was anxious to get his hands on any of Logan’s research. “I’ve lost my phone.”

“And you think I have it.” The professor raised an eyebrow.

“I was hoping you’d seen it.” Logan corrected, making sure not to outright accuse a faculty member of theft.

“Hmm.” Dee rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Logan was wary of his sly grin. “I may know something about where it is.”

“Where is it?” Logan pressed.

“My my, you’re so impatient today.” The doctor shook his head disapprovingly. “All day you’ve been rushing around, and now yet again you’re anxious to run off.”

“Please, sir.” Logan pleaded. “It’s been for a good reason. I need my phone to continue my research.”

“So _that’s_  what this is all about.” Dee put it together. “You’re little secret ‘hypothetical’ side project.”

“I...don’t know what you’re referring to.” Logan feigned innocence.

“Tell you what.” Dee said with a thoughtful hum. “You return that cage, and I’ll get you your phone.”

“I thought it was available?” Logan narrowed his eyes, not liking when people were dishonest.

“I changed my mind.” The professor looked almost bored. “I want it back. And its occupants as well.” Logan thought it over for a moment, hating the way Dee phrased his request. Had he already looked through Logan’s phone? Was it already too late?

“Fine.” Logan said through gritted teeth.


	22. The Truth Comes Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Thomas is all of us.

Roman began walking down the hall, following the various twists and turns before realizing he had never actually been to the lost and found before. Where exactly was it located? And where was he?

 “Hey, girl!” Roman looked up, grateful to see a familiar face amongst the empty hallways. Though the Starbucks was currently closed, Remy stood nearby looking loyal as ever as he sipped out of a cup.

 “Remy!” Roman greeted, coming over. “What are you doing here?”

 “My best.” Remy took another sip, peering over his sunglasses despite the fact they were inside. “Where are you going? You look more lost than me.”

 “I’m trying to find the lost and found,” Roman explained.

 “Ooh, bad luck.” Remy hissed. “That place closed like an hour ago.”

 “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.” Roman huffed. What rotten luck he seemed to be having. Logan was sure to rub this in his face.

 “What’d you lose?” Remy asked.

 “Oh, there’s this guy Logan Sanders-” Roman started to explain, but Remy cut him off.

 “Tall, glasses, walking calculator?” Remy questioned.

 “That’s him.” Roman chuckled. “I’m trying to help him find his phone.”

 “Oh yeah, I was there when he lost it.” Remy took a sip. “He tore out of bio so fast it threw off my selfie game.”

 “Wait, really?” Roman dared to look hopeful. “Do you know if anybody took it?”

 “Yeah, I think Thomas got it.” Remy pointed down the hall. “Dude’s probably still studying in the library.”

 “Oh Remy, you’re a lifesaver!” Roman would have hugged Remy, but at the last second, he remembered the borrowers inside his bag. “I’ve gotta go tell Logan!”

 “You can thank me with Starbucks!” Remy called after him as he retreated back the way he came. Roman gave him a thumbs up.

 At the sound of another voice, both borrowers tensed. Virgil especially, but he did his best to listen in on the conversation. Virgil was relieved Dee didn’t have it, but they still needed to get the phone as soon as possible. At least it seemed like Roman already knew Thomas, so hopefully, that counted for…something.

***

 “I found the phone.” Both humans spoke at the same time, surprising the other.

 “Wait, what?” Roman paused. “Did you run into Thomas or something?”

 “No, I- what? What are you talking about?” Logan frowned. “What does Thomas have to do with this?”

 “He grabbed your phone,” Roman explained. “Remy said so, he’s in the library right now.”

 “…Oh.” Logan fell in step with Roman, both hurrying to the library.

 “What did you mean, anyways?” Roman asked as they went. “About finding the phone.”

 “Well, I went back to Professor Dee and based on his behavior I assumed he had it,” Logan admitted.

 “Why would a professor have your phone?” Roman pointed out.

 “I’ll explain later,” Logan said, having no intention of doing so.

***

 Thomas listened in eagerly, finally hearing Virgil’s voice for this first time.

_V: Pat, what are you doing?_

 Virgil was even quieter than Patton, and Thomas could only guess this was another borrower. It made sense, from what he heard. However, even over the phone, Thomas could hear Virgil’s anxiety. The knot in Thomas’ stomach grew stronger as now he was worried for both little people.

 Thomas tensed up, hearing the sounds of a scuffle.

_P: L-Logan! Hey! What are you doing?_

_V: Let us go!_

 “Let them go…” Thomas whispered softly to himself, scared for what was happening. There was a creaking sound of a cage door, causing Thomas to put his hands to his mouth in shock.

_P: L-Logan…?_

 The tremble in Patton’s voice made Thomas begin to tear up. Even though he had never met the guy, Thomas could vividly picture that tiny face of betrayal.

_L: I’m sorry about this. I’ll explain everything when I get back, Patton. I promise._

_P: Logan, wait!_

 At Patton’s last little cry, Thomas began to sob openly, overcome by his sympathy.

 It was at this point in time Logan and Roman entered the library, spotting Thomas alone in the back corner. They approached him, only to notice that he seemed to be in tears. The two looked at each other, unsure how to react.

 “Thomas…?” Logan called his name, gently touching his shoulder. Logan recognized his own phone in Thomas’ hands. Thomas quickly pulled out the earbuds. He looked up at Logan, then jolted back in what looked like fear.

 “How could you do that to P-Patton?!” Thomas cried, tears still in his eyes. Logan reeled back in shock. “He  _trusted_ you!”

 “I…ah…” Logan was at a loss for words. Roman, however, was not.

 “Thomas, keep your lips locked!” Roman hissed, making a motion to zip his lips.

 At the sound of his own name, Patton jumped in shock, backing away from Thomas’ voice as much as he could in the bag. He looked at Virgil, whose own eyes were wide as well.

 “This is bad, this is  _really_ bad,” Virgil mumbled, head in his heads. Now they had  _three_ humans that knew about them. Patton came over, still trembling himself as he placed a hand on Virgil’s shoulder.

 “M-Maybe it isn’t? I mean, he did seem mad at Logan for doing those things.” But they both knew they couldn’t be sure. Thomas was a new variable in all this and they had no idea how he would really be towards them. Virgil silently hoped Roman and Logan could convince him they didn’t actually exist. Though, he knew that wasn’t going to be possible.

 “Roman?” Thomas looked at Roman wide-eyed, and a bit distrusting. “But you-”

 “We can all play catch up back at the apartment building,” Roman assured him.

 “And I’d like my phone back if you don’t mind.” Logan swiped his phone out of Thomas’ limp hands. He wanted to get out of here as soon as possible before something else disastrous happened.

 “…Okay.” Thomas looked between the two of them. “But you’ve got to let them out, Logan.”

 “Don’t worry, I already took care of that,” Roman said proudly.

 “You did?” Thomas looked incredulous. “But then…where are they?”

 “Okay Roman, that’s enough.” Logan tugged firmly on Roman’s arm, eliciting a slight ‘ow!’. Thomas caught the way Logan looked down at Roman’s bag.

 “Wait…” Thomas gasped in awe.

 Virgil groaned into his hands as he listened to the conversation taking place above him. Stupid Roman! His answers were practically confirmation that they existed. He wasn’t even trying to hide them! At least Logan was smart enough to get Roman to stop. Though much too late in Virgil’s opinion.

 It was Thomas’ last statement that made both borrowers even tenser. “You don’t think he actually knows where we are, right?” Patton asked in a hushed voice. Virgil groaned.

 “With our luck? Probably.”

 “We’re leaving. Now.” Logan pulled Roman out of the library before he could fully expose the borrowers.

 “See you back at the building!” Roman called over his shoulder, leaving behind a very confused Thomas.

 Thomas watched them both go, eyes now focused on the bag as if trying to find a sign. He quickly packed up his stuff, hurrying out to his own car. Thomas didn’t want to be a second late, lest his neighbors decided not to actually tell him what the heck was going on.

 “What is wrong with you?” Logan hissed once they were both safely in the relative privacy of his car.

 “What are you talking about?” Roman frowned. “It’s thanks to me Thomas calmed down. He was ready to go off on you in the middle of the library!” Which, while justly deserved, even Roman knew would have been a bad idea.

 “No, it’s thanks to you he’s going to come knocking at our doors.” Logan pointed out.

 “Roman, you’re an idiot!” Virgil yelled, hoping he was able to be heard in this instance. He really needed Roman to know. Virgil tried to ignore the way Patton shook as he addressed Roman that way.

 Roman groaned, but he opened the bag so the borrowers could be heard.

 “Well, what was I supposed to do?” Roman argued.

 “I don’t know! But not that!” Virgil’s chest heaved fast as the panic was catching up with him. “Oh gosh, now we have  _three_  humans who know about us! Thomas knows and who knows what  _he’s_  going to do! This is bad. This is bad, bad, bad, bad, bad-!” Knowing Virgil was beginning to have a panic attack, Patton ran over to him.

 “Virgil, Virge, hey, it’s okay. Deep breaths, come on. Can I touch you?” Virgil nodded and Patton started rubbing comforting circled on his back. “It’s okay, that’s it.” Patton continued to encourage.

 “Virgil, everything’s going to be fine,” Roman assured him. “We’ll just explain everything to Thomas when we all get back.”

 “We?” Logan raised an eyebrow. “I’m certainly not the one who agreed to that.”

 Virgil, a little calmer now thanks to Patton, glared at Roman. “That’s the  _last_  thing you should do! You need to try and-and, I don’t know, convince him that we don’t actually exist!” Patton frowned.

 “I’m not so sure that’ll work…” Patton said, trailing off. Virgil sighed, turning towards him.

 “I know.” He looked back up at the humans. “But you have to at least  _try_.”

 “I mean, he already knows.” Roman pointed out. “And wouldn’t it be better if we at least told him about the rules? Otherwise, he could go around telling everyone.”

 “He won’t have proof.” Logan tried not to think about Dr. Dee or any other human beings like him that might overhear Thomas. “It’s likely he’ll find it impossible to convince most rational human beings.”

 “Come on, you know someone’s going to believe him,” Roman said sternly.

 Virgil found himself groaning again, because Roman had a point, no matter how much he hated to admit it. But he couldn’t just  _agree_ to telling a human about their kind. “I-I  _can’t_  do this. Not again.” Virgil spoke, almost too quiet.

 Patton couldn’t help but nod along in agreement to what Virgil said. What if Thomas turned out to be another Roman? Or Logan like he was before? Or even  _worse_. They had no idea. “W-What if you tell him and he…he takes one of us?” Patton stuttered, looking up at Roman before averting his gaze.

 “You mean like how Logan did?” Roman muttered, unable to miss the chance to throw Logan under the bus.

 “That was an accident.” Logan turned on his blinker.

 “Oh, so you ‘accidentally’ broke into my apartment and took Virgil?” Roman uses finger quotes to emphasize his point.

 “What?” Logan frowned. “What are you talking about? You broke into my apartment.”

 “You broke into mine first!” Roman argued.

 “No, I didn’t.” Logan insisted. “Virgil came to my apartment.”

 “You really expect me to believe that?” Roman raised an eyebrow.

 Virgil sighed, he was hoping this wouldn’t have been brought up. “Well you should because…it’s true,” Virgil revealed, ducking his head a little. He was a bit fearful of Roman’s reaction to him having left. As was Patton, evident by his wide fear-filled eyes.

 But Virgil didn’t know the half of Patton’s fear as Patton remembered Roman becoming angry whenever Patton brought up wanting to leave.

 “Wait, what?” Roman looked down at Virgil, his mockery giving way for a look of confusion and betrayal. Roman felt his chest tighten as he realized even Virgil had chosen Logan over him. “Why?”

 Virgil bit his lip, not looking at Roman. “Did you honestly expect me to stick around? I decided to go and find Patton on my own.”

 “…Oh.” Roman clenched his teeth slightly, unsure of how to respond to this new information. Certainly, he could feel that familiar anger stewing inside him from when he first met Patton. Instead of dealing with this now, Roman just closed the bag back up.

 Virgil looked up when darkness covered them again. He glared up at the now-closed bag but didn’t say anything. Mostly in fear, because he knew Roman was probably angry.

 “You shouldn’t have said that,” Patton mumbled to him and Virgil looked over, only to realize how much Patton was shaking. Virgil’s gaze softened.

 “Oh, Pat.” He brought him into another hug.

 Logan pulled into his parking spot, glancing over just as Roman closed the bag.

 “Don’t be petty, Roman,” Logan advised, still ever wary for the borrower’s health.

 “Shut up.” Roman all but growled, not wanting to put up with Logan as he jumped out of the car. Roman didn’t even wait for Logan, instead heading up the stairs by himself. Logan hurried to follow, huffing slightly as he had to first lock his car. Roman entered his apartment, and though he was tempted to slam the door in Logan’s face Logan was following along too close behind for Roman to actually do it. Roman set the bag down on the couch, still trying to be cautious despite his irritation.

 “Roman, calm down,” Logan said sternly.

 “Don’t tell me what to do.” Roman dodged out of the way as Logan made a grab for him. “And don’t touch me!”

 “Get a hold of yourself.” Logan grabbed at him again, this time successful. He all but dragged him out into the hall, wanting some privacy for this conversation.


	23. The Truth Comes Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman and Logan discuss what will happen if they try to befriend the borrowers. Also Thomas is there, hi Thomas!

Patton whimpered as he heard Roman, sounding angrier than ever. He shook, still in Virgil’s hold, burying himself in his friend’s hoodie. Virgil ran a hand through his hair. Normally he wasn’t this touchy feely-in fact, this was probably the most hugs he’s had in one day-but given their situation and the fact he thought he was never going to see Patton again, he was making an exception.

 “Pat, it’s…okay.” Patton shook his head.

 “No, it’s not, Roman is angry and he’s gonna-gonna…” Patton trailed off, not actually knowing what Roman would do, but it couldn’t be good. He remembered Roman saying that he would never hurt him, but how could he believe him when he sounded so angry.

 Virgil sighed, not knowing how to comfort Patton in this instance. Because even he wasn’t sure. He wanted to say that Roman would calm down and everything would be fine, but…he couldn’t. Up until now, Roman had been understanding and relatively calm. But his anger was reminding him of Logan.

 Virgil shuddered as the memories once again resurfaced. Everything would be so much easier if they could just get away. Virgil furrowed his eyebrows and suddenly looked up, searching the bag. Looking for any give, a small hole, just  _anything_  they could use to escape. Unfortunately, no such luck with those, but maybe…

 “Pat, quickly, give me a boost.”

 “What is wrong with you?” Logan hissed, closing the door behind them.

 “I- I don’t know!” Roman tugged at his hair in frustration.

 “Did you really think Virgil would just stay in your apartment?” Logan raised an eyebrow. “Or Patton, for that matter?”

 “I didn’t treat them like some experiments or whatever heartless thing you did.” Roman gave Logan a slight shove.

 “It doesn’t matter.” Logan knew better than to retaliate against Roman’s push. “You didn’t listen to Patton; that’s why he still trusts me over you.”

 “But I’m  _trying!_ ” Roman insisted for what felt like the millionth time. “And I’m sure that, with time, he’ll come around… right?”

 “What time?” Logan crossed his arms. “You’re even a bigger fool than I thought if you think you can win them over in one day.”

 “Well not one day, obviously,” Roman admitted.

 “So how are you planning on keeping them, then?” Logan asked. “Because certainly whatever method you choose it’ll only lower Patton’s opinion of you.”

 “I won’t keep them at all!” Roman said smugly. “They’ll choose to be with me.”

 “Patton won’t,” Logan observed. “And likely Virgil won’t, either. He’s already left once. All he really cares about is being with Patton. You don’t factor into their choices at all.” Roman’s face fell.

 “You’re…you’re lying.” Roman took a step back.

 “Why would I lie?” Logan gave a small shrug of his shoulders. “The facts are obvious. Left to their own devices, Patton and Virgil would leave us both. If you tried to keep them overnight uncontained they’d be gone by morning.”

 Roman paused, looking at a spot on the floor. Despite what everyone thought, he wasn’t an idiot. Roman knew his overall borrower approval rating was lacking. But despite that, Roman had really thought he was getting somewhere with Virgil. That perhaps after the two of them bonded, Virgil could help Roman win Patton back and they could all be… friends. However, even after Roman did everything he thought was right, Virgil still chose to leave.

 After all, who would ever choose to stay with him? Roman clenched his fists at his sides, but he felt his anger dissipating into sadness as a few tears collected in his eyes.

 “Hey, guys.” Both humans turned to see a panting Thomas, who looked like he had just sprinted up five flights of stairs. “Sorry I’m late, I just… Roman, are you okay?”

 “I’m fine.” Roman wiped at his face, trying to look decent. “Come on in.” Before Logan could stop him, Roman opened the door. Logan glared at him over Thomas’ head. Meanwhile Thomas, completely oblivious to the tension between them, all but skipped into the room. Logan begrudgingly followed.

 Virgil grunted as he tried to push the top part of the bag open, but it was no use. He was too weak to flip it open. It was then he heard voices coming back into the room, three to be exact and Virgil quickly tapped on Patton’s head. Letting him know to help him down. Patton did and both subconsciously backed into the corner as the voices came closer.

 “Alright, what do you know so far?” Roman asked, crossing his arms. He knew he sounded as dead inside as he felt.

 “Well, ah…” Thomas thought back, not really expecting himself to be doing the talking. “I know about Patton and Virgil. And they’re borrowers, although I’m not actually sure what that means. I know they’re small though. You did something about not letting them go,-” Thomas pointed to Roman, then to Logan, “-and you just…put them in a cage. When they  _trusted_ you.”

 “Patton trusted me, not Virgil.” Logan corrected, putting a hand up. “And you can spare me the theatrics, I have been thoroughly shamed already.”

 “Although he could do with a little more shaming, of course,” Roman smirked.

 “They’re also supposed to be a secret, right?” Thomas asked. “And there’s rules and stuff?”

 “Yes, there are rules.” Logan nodded. “Which means that we would appreciate your cooperation in keeping this top secret.” Though it was phrased as a request, Logan’s tone made it clear it was not.

 “Oh, don’t worry, my lips are sealed!” Thomas assured them.

 “At least Thomas won’t tell anyone?” Patton said, after hearing all that. Virgil simply sighed. Honestly, what did that matter anymore? It was likely they were never escaping these humans. And, not to mention, Virgil was more than a little upset that they ignored him and didn’t even try to cover it all up. Though he really shouldn’t have expected anything else.

 “Thomas seems…nice?” Patton filled the silence once more and Virgil sighed again. He knew Patton was just trying to find some sort of hope in all of this. Any human could seem nice to other humans. But when faced with a borrower, everything changed.

 “Just be prepared, Pat.” Virgil finally said, causing Patton to given him a confused look.

 “For what?” Patton asked, tilting his head.

 “For anything,” Virgil said, before tuning in back to the humans.

 “You know, I didn’t actually know you two were friends,” Thomas said after a moment, looking between them.

 “Acquaintances.”

 “We’re not friends.”

 Logan and Roman responded simultaneously, giving each other a slight glare across the room.

 “O..Oh.” Thomas felt a bit uncomfortable standing in the middle of the room between them.

 “So, where are Patton and Virgil?” Thomas asked, eyeing the bag on the couch. Roman sidestepped in front to block it from Thomas’ view.

 “It would be in everyone’s best interest if you didn’t know,” Logan answered, personally thinking that Roman’s action only served to solidify Thomas’ belief.

 “Uh, okay.” Thomas was a bit confused by that response. “But can I… meet them?”

  _Please say no, please say no._  Virgil pleaded within his mind. If anything, could Logan and Roman at least do  _this_  much?

 “They’re not exactly fond of humans.” Roman glanced to the side.

 “No, I know!” Thomas was quick to backpedal from the idea, his curiosity at war with his good intentions. “I just…wanted to make sure they’re okay. And, well, have some faces to put to the voices.”

 “They are perfectly fine, I’d assume.” Logan answered. “They’re capable of taking care of themselves. But to answer your question, no, you cannot meet them as we are not in control of that.”

 Roman blinked. “We’re…not?”

 “No, we’re not.” Logan gave Roman a look as if to say  _don’t you dare blow this_. “Both borrowers are gone.”

 Virgil almost wanted to laugh. Both in disbelief because he didn’t think they would actually try to get Thomas not to meet them…but also because Virgil knew Logan didn’t believe the things he said. He didn’t truly believe they could take care of themselves or were in control. And as if they would ever allow the borrowers to  _leave_.

 “Logan’s helping us!” Patton smiled in excitement. Glad to hear Logan doing his best. Virgil honestly didn’t have the heart to tell him about Logan’s lies. It might be selfish, but he hadn’t seen Patton smile in a while and he missed seeing it. So Virgil just hummed in response.

 “Gone?” Thomas repeated.

 “Yes, gone.” Logan nodded. “I haven’t the slightest clue about where they might be now.”

 “And please, don’t go looking for them!” Roman jumped in, catching on. “I know it might be tempting, but… they deserve to have some space. Don’t try and disturb them, okay? Just leave them alone.”

 “Right.” Thomas did his best not to appear crestfallen. He should have known better than to get his hopes up. But then again, maybe this is for the best. It would just hurt to meet a borrower if you knew they were just going to be scared of you the whole time.

 Virgil couldn’t believe it was actually working, maybe they really  _could_  get through this without meeting Thomas. And even better, he would think they were long gone.

 Patton did feel a little sad at the sound in Thomas’ voice, but knew not to speak up. It was better this way. Dealing with two humans was more than enough.

 “Well, I…guess I’ll be seeing you guys around then.” Thomas turned, only to see Logan was already holding the door open.

 “Bye, Thomas.” Roman gave him a wave. After a moment, Logan did as well.

 “By the way, If you, um, happen to see them again,” Thomas paused, still inside the room, “Could you please say hi from me?” Thomas’ eyes widened. “Oh, but not if you think it’ll freak them out. I don’t want to scare them.”

 “If we happen to one day cross paths we will be sure to pass your message along.” Logan assured him.

 “Okay.” Thomas waved again, looking around the room one last time before heading down the stairs to his own apartment. Once he was gone, Logan closed the door and both humans breathed a sigh of relief.

 Both borrowers also breathed a sigh of relief. They were still stuck in the same position they had been in, dealing with two humans and all, but at least it hadn’t been made worse by adding another human in. Virgil especially, just hoped Thomas was truthful when he said he wouldn’t tell anyone.

 But now came the moment of truth. What were Logan and Roman going to do with them?


	24. And Then There Was One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now for that all-important question: Will the humans let the borrowers go?

The humans in question looked at each other as if to say  _now what?_

Roman crouched down by the bag, slowly opening it to peer inside. Logan came over to kneel next to him.

“So, Thomas says hi.” Roman said with a weak chuckle.

“...We heard.” Virgil said after a moment of hesitation.

“T-Thanks for not letting him see us!” Patton jumped in, mostly looking at Logan. “And thank-thank you for listening.” Patton said, softer than time and looking down. Virgil sighed, turning away, knowing things Patton couldn’t-or maybe didn’t want-to see.

“Of-” Logan’s own statement was interrupted by a yawn. “-of course, Patton.”

“Little tired there, Lo?” Roman raised an eyebrow.

“I’ve been awake for approximately 38 hours.” Logan deadpanned. Roman raised his eyebrows.

“Why would you do that?!” Roman said exasperatedly.

“Well, first it was your silly movie marathon keeping me up, and then I got a bit distracted by Virgil’s presence.” Logan explained.

“The only reason I was able to sleep is because I literally passed out due to one of my panic attacks.” Virgil said bitterly, wanting to throw Logan under the bus now that he could actually speak more in his presence. Patton winced, remembering when Virgil had told him that.

“...right.” Logan winced as well, remembering it vividly. “I’m, well, I know words don’t actually do anything in terms of change, but I suppose I should formally apologize to you about that, Virgil.”

“Ya think?” Roman rolled his eyes.

Virgil crossed his arms, looking away. “You have so much more to apologize for than  _that_. And yeah, you’re right. Words are pointless, so how about you make it up to us by actually _letting us go?_ ” Virgil asked, letting the question hang loose in the air.

Patton gasped, shaky hands going to cover his mouth as he glanced over to Roman. Waiting for the anger to take over his features. Why did Virgil have to bring that up right now?

“...well, it’s not my apartment.” Logan turned to Roman, wanting to keep his integrity with Patton for as long as possible.

“Why do you have to make me the bad guy?” Roman groaned, looking uncomfortable.

“You both are the bad guy if you don’t let us go! And Logan, that is  _not_ a good excuse. _Let. Us. Go_.” Virgil said, finally having just enough of everything.

“V-Virgil…” Patton muttered so softly that it was practically a whimper.

“Patton, it’s alright.” Logan spoke softly, trying to comfort the clearly distressed borrower.

Roman was quiet, looking over each of them in turn. He thought about when he first found Patton and how blind he had been to the borrower’s fear. He thought about when he found Virgil, and how Virgil had slowly opened up to him but inevitably left to find Patton. And then he thought about all the things Logan had said to him in the hall.

One thing was clear to Roman now. He could either be a good person and never see the borrowers again, or he could see them all the time but be some kind of monster.

“Okay.” Roman said, his voice more quiet than usual.

Patton froze and he slowly turned to Roman. He had, of course, expected anger. But did Roman...did he actually say…?

“R-Really?” Patton asked, trying not to get too hopeful but failing. Virgil’s eyes widened and he too turned to Roman to hear his answer. His eyes also glanced towards Logan.

“Yes, really.” Roman gave Patton a small smile.

“Roman.” Logan’s voice held a warning tone.

“I know what you said.” Roman turned to him. “And you’re right. But this isn’t right, either. I don’t _want_  to be a bad person. And- and if that means never seeing them again, then so be it.”

“You’re doing the right thing Roman.” Virgil said, wanting to encourage Roman to hurry up and let them go, before Logan did  _something_.

“Y-Yeah!” Patton agreed, sending a small smile back to Roman.

“So now you’re making me the bad guy?” Logan observed.

“You’ve  _always_  been the bad guy.” Roman told him.

Logan paused, surprisingly hurt by Roman’s comment. Roman had been making jabs all evening, but this one was particularly painful. Mostly because it’s what Logan had been trying so desperately not to be all along.

“No, I...I’m not.” Logan tried to explain himself. “Well, I mean perhaps in the beginning with how I treated Virgil… but then when I went to the presentation with Dr. Dee, and I realized what a horrible road I was heading down, I made the conscience decision to protect-”  _Virgil_. “-...borrowers from humans like him.”

Something in Virgil snapped at that. “We don’t need your protection!” He shouted, practically growling. He was so sick and tired of all of this. “We’ve been on our own for  _years_ , we can take care of ourselves!”

Patton did nod in agreement with Virgil, they _could_  take care of themselves, after all, but...he did feel bad for Logan. “You have good intentions Lo...but Virgil is right.”

Logan sighed, looking around at the others and realizing he was outnumbered. There was nothing he could really do to change Roman’s mind without possibly endangering the borrowers.

Besides, is that even what Logan wanted? At the end of the day he just wanted Virgil and Patton to be safe, but under Logan’s watch they were taken by Roman  _and_  discovered by Thomas. Perhaps it would be safest if the borrowers were kept far away from him.

“Fine.” Logan sighed, looking defeated.

“Wait.” Virgil said, having to stop for a moment. “You’re...serious? No tricks or anything?” Virgil didn’t allow his hope to rise, still looking at Logan warily. A quick glance at Patton told him that Patton already wholeheartedly believed.

“No tricks.” Logan promised.

“Great.” Roman gave a smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes. “So, uh, now that we’re all on the same page morale-wise for once, how exactly should we go about this whole...letting you go thing?”

Patton and Virgil glanced at each other, wondering the same thing. If Virgil could help it, he didn’t want to be in any more hands. He tried to think of all the exits in the apartment. “Okay, this is how this is going to work.” Virgil started. “Take the bag into the kitchen and place it on its side on the floor. And then leave the room.”

“...Alright.” Roman slowly stood up, picking up the bag. He couldn’t help but think that Virgil spoke as if this was some sort of hostage situation… which, in a way, it was.

Logan didn’t even follow him, not wanting to even be tempted to watch the borrowers go. This was all for the best.

Virgil held his breath as he felt them being moved, he was still just waiting for all of this to be some sort of joke.

“I only hear one set of footsteps.” Patton said suddenly and Virgil blinked, listening closely. Patton was right, which meant Logan was staying behind since Roman was clearly the one holding them.

“Good.” Virgil said bitterly, he didn’t want Logan there messing it all up anyway. Patton looked sad, but he understood.

“We’re here.” Roman looked around the kitchen, hesitant to put down the bag. “So, just anywhere, or…?”

“Near the counter!” Virgil yelled out. Patton remained silent towards the human.

Roman listened to Virgil’s instructions, setting the bag down on the floor. Slowly, Roman tilted it over so that it was on its side.

Virgil peaked his head out, looking up to glare at Roman. “Isn’t there something else you’re forgetting to do?” Virgil asked, raising an eyebrow. He just really wanted to get out of there, but couldn’t risk Roman knowing where one of their exits were.

“I’m going, I’m going.” Roman sighed, putting his hands up defensively. With one last sad look at Virgil, Roman left to go join Logan in the living room.

Virgil waited until Roman was fully out of the room to jump into action. He pulled Patton along with him as they ran to the exit. It took them less than a minute for both to disappear into the walls.

Once inside, Virgil grinned. “I can’t believe it...we’re out. We’re  _free_.” He turned to Patton with the same wide grin, who couldn’t help but return it.

“We did it kiddo!” No more humans talking over them, or grabbing them, or trapping them. They were finally  _free_. Patton should be thrilled and he was, don’t get him wrong, but there was an underline of...guilt in his heart. His smile fell a little. “I...wish we could have at least had a proper goodbye…” It just all seemed too...incomplete. Virgil’s smile fell and he sighed.

“I know Pat, but it’s better this way. Now come on, we have no time to waste around here. We need to get packing.” Patton nodded and followed Virgil along. They walked in silence and stopped once they came to the crossroads that would separate them. Virgil turned to Patton.

“Are you going to be okay by yourself?” Patton raised an eyebrow.

“Are you?” Virgil blinked, before he chuckled.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. We’ll meet back here tomorrow morning, okay? And then we’ll head out.” Virgil sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I hate this part. Finding a new place, hopefully it won’t take us too long.” He muttered. Patton smiled, placing a hand on his arm.

“I’m sure it won’t.” They hugged one last time before going their separate ways, towards their respective homes.

“Well that sucked.” Roman groaned, flopping down on one end of the couch.

“For once we’re in agreement.” Logan muttered. The two sat in an uncomfortable silence for some time.

“I just…” Roman rubbed his hands across his face, searching for the right words. “I have no idea how I’m just gonna go about my day like nothing happened, you know? Like what are we even supposed to do now?”

“Well, I’ll be returning that cage I borrowed.” Logan said thoughtfully. “And trying to convince my professor that I’m not crazy.” Roman sent him a warning glare. “Relax, I’m not going to try and prove anything. Quite the opposite. I’m still trying to come up with a good excuse for my behavior.”

“Just say you were sleep deprived.” Roman offered. “Because it’s true. Maybe you can convince yourself too, and think this was all some weird hallucination.”

“Highly unlikely.” Logan smiled sadly. “But certainly a preferable outcome to this.” The silence returned.

“Did you ever delete all that stuff on your phone?” Roman asked, sitting up slightly as he remembered.

“Oh, no.” Logan pulled out his phone, looking at the screen. “Thank you for reminding me.”

“Ah, before you do,” Roman spoke up, “Do you think maybe we could...look at it?” Logan raised an eyebrow. “Well, I mean, Thomas got to hear it.”

“I don’t think that would be wise.” Logan voiced his opinion.

“Please?” Roman asked. “It’s the only chance we’ll have.” Logan realized he was right.

“...very well.” Logan decided to start with the photos. He clicked into the app, wincing at the image which awaited him. Logan had forgotten how frightened Virgil had been. The picture left a bad taste in Logan’s mouth as he remembered how cynically he had acted in that moment.

“Here.” Logan handed the phone over, not wanting to look at it any longer. After all, Logan had already lived through these memories. He didn’t want to live through them again.

Roman, on the other hand, was experiencing this for the first time. Though he had hoped that pictures of Virgil would bring him some form of comfort, the fear on Virgil’s face only made the ache in Roman’s chest grow. He sighed. At least now there was no doubt that they were doing the right thing by letting the borrowers go.

“...I changed my mind.” Roman handed it back. “You can just delete them all.”

“Are you sure?” Logan made sure to double check. Once these were gone there would be no retrieving them.

Roman nodded. Logan clicked through his device, wiping out every last trace of the borrower’s existence. Soon it was as if they never existed in the first place.

“Done.” Logan felt a sense of finality as he clicked delete one last time. He stood, no longer caring to sit in this gloomy silence any longer. “I...best be going.”

“Mhm.” Roman made a noise of agreement. Logan left through the front door, shutting it behind him with a resounding click. Roman looked around his empty apartment. It now felt more cold and lonely than usual. Roman sighed, sinking back into the couch again.

After all, who would ever choose to stay with him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this third installment in our perspective series! Let us know what you thought of this story in the comments. What'd you like? What didn't you like? We'd love to hear it all!
> 
> (Also, stay tuned for a sequel this story that will begin posting this Sunday! :D)


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